


Restoring Balance

by WinterCrystal1009



Series: Restoring Balance Series [1]
Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Adventure & Romance, Ancient Egyptian Deities, BAMF Jack Frost (Guardians of Childhood), BAMF Original Characters, Dark Past, Dreams and Nightmares, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Epic Battles, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Forced Marriage, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Greek and Roman Mythology - Freeform, Heavy Angst, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Jack Feels, Jack Frost (Guardians of Childhood) is Jokul Frosti, Jack Frost and Pitch Black as Allies, Jack Frost is Nightlight (Guardians of Childhood), Jack Has Issues, Jack Needs a Hug, Jack-Centric, Jackrabbit—Freeform, Jackrabbit—Slowburn, M/M, Male-Female Friendship, Molestation, Nature Magic, Non-Consensual Touching, One-Sided Attraction, One-Sided Relationship, Past Character Death, Past Relationship(s), Past Torture, Pitch Black is Good, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Psychological Torture, Rape/Non-con Elements, References to Depression, References to Norse Religion & Lore, Seasonal Spirits and Guardians, Spirit World, Torture, Traumatized Jack Frost (Guardians of Childhood), Waterboarding
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-31
Updated: 2019-04-06
Packaged: 2019-04-16 04:12:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 11
Words: 29,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14156442
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WinterCrystal1009/pseuds/WinterCrystal1009
Summary: As the Guardian of Fun for two years, Jack Frost is thought of as a mischievous child, a trickster extrordinare, an immature brat and most of all, one of the youngest Winter Immortals in the Spirit World. Turns out, practically nobody but his centuries-long friends know about his chilling past and identity, especially not the Guardians.However, with the prophecy of Ragnarök permeating the air, and Jack being kidnapped by Hel and Khione, his secrets are being forced out into the open, one by one. Not only that, but the world is relying on Jack's strength to survive this battle of wits between light and dark, for his unfrozen blood is the deciding factor of it all. With the pressure of the world on his shoulders and so much more, Jack is driven to the point where he doesn't know whether to continue enduring his hardships or just give in once and for all.If only calling the victors of Ragnarök was so simple.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there! As this is an incomplete fanfic published a year ago on fanfiction.net and wattpad, I will be posting every other week the chapters I have already written, and the rest will sync with my horrible update time. 
> 
> Also heads up, I didn't read GoC before planning this fanfic, but I did know a lot about each of the characters!
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

(Norway 1000 ACE)

Snow fell gently, occasionally catching onto the needles of towering pine trees, moonlight causing the precipitation to glitter. The secluded area served to create a calm, peaceful atmosphere that the fighting forces on the inclined surface promptly quashed.

One of the fighters, a young woman, shouted over the masses of shadows surrounding her, "Tsar! Fearling behind you!"

Her comrade, a short, chubby man with a tuft of curled, white hair proudly defying gravity on his bald head, turned around and shot a beam of moonlight at the shadow creature, instantly incinerating it. His name was Tsar Lunar XII.

"I'm perfectly fine, Emily Jane. All you need to do is watch over yourself!"

The black-haired woman, Emily Jane, simply rolled her eyes as she washed away all the shadowy creatures, commonly known as fearlings, with waves of water.

"I am managing just fine, Tsar. In fact, you should watch out for yourself," Emily Jane retorted when she slashed a fearling behind Tsar to smithereens, her light green, ankle low dress rippling with the movement.

"I knew that!"

Emily Jane grinned, flicking a strand of her straight, long hair behind her ear. "Sure you have, Tsar."

Tsar opened his mouth to speak, only to be interrupted by another voice.

"May you two stop with your bickering and vanquish these fearlings?"

A blonde woman, slightly older than Emily and Tsar, fought her way through the fearlings, clearing the field with her swords.

Tsar shrugged. "Sorry Themis, you know how feisty Em can get."

"How feisty…excuse me?" Emily Jane stared into Tsar's eyes. "At least I am not the dimwitted spouse that needs rescuing every time."

Two daggers flew past Tsar and Emily Jane, hitting the fearlings creeping up behind them.

Themis grabbed the sword strapped to her cascading, blue dress. "You two are a dimwitted couple, that's what. Zeus and I, at least, never quarreled in a battlefield like you two!"

At that exact moment, a white haired teen flew towards them, her white, knee high dress ripped to shreds. Her pale legs and arms were covered with purpling bruises and dripping cuts.

"Anemone!" The three below her yelled.

The girl, identified as Anemone, landed beside them, swaying on her bare feet. "Hii—whoa."

She would've fallen to the ground if Themis hadn't caught her just then.

"Why have we taken the child with us?"

Themis shook her head as she tore off a piece of her dress and wrapped it around a large gash on Anemone's forearm, the fabric absorbing the blood like a thirsty sponge.

Anemone glared at the woman holding her. "I'm not a kid!"

Emily Jane interjected before things could go out of hand, "Anemone, why did you come here?"

"Oh, yeah!" Anemone shoved herself away from Themis's hold. "I found the place where Hel and Holler are!"

"You have?" Tsar clamped his hands on the girl's shoulders. "Show us where they are."

"Okay, follow me!"

With that, Anemone slipped out of Tsar's grasp and shot off in the wind, the others following. Once they reached a clearing on the top of a cliff, Anemone slowly drifted down. The teen pulled Tsar, Emily Jane and Themis behind a tree, pointing out the two lone figures standing near the edge.

"There's Hel and Holler," Anemone whispered, "Are you guys ready?"

Tsar replied, "I'm not sure if Emily and I are. We've never actually fought with death deities before."

"Relax Tsar," Emily Jane said, "we can handle them. At least Themis and Anemone have seen them before."

"Well, in negotiations with my dad," Anemone added.

Themis deadpanned to Anemone. "Regardless, we shall defeat these hot headed imbeciles."

"Hot headed imbeciles, hmm?"

The Quartet spun around to face a young woman whose blood-red dress stood out against her pale white skin and skull necklace. Beside her was a grayish, middle-aged man, dressed in a black cloak as he leaned on a bone cane topped with a human skull. Hel and Holler had spotted the Quartet's hiding place.

Anemone backed up into a tree as her other companions stood their ground.

"Oh look," Holler teased, cape fluttering in Anemone's defense wind, "isn't that one of Boreas's children? The troublesome wind sprite who cannot shut her mouth?"

A shadow slithered from the tree and touched Anemone's cheek, eliciting a small whimper from the girl. The tendril soon hardened, shackling her neck.

Hel replied, "It appears so, Holler. What would daddy say if he discovered that his daughter was plotting against him?"

That was when Tsar snapped, blasting the shadow around Anemone's neck with a moonbeam. "Who told you that we'd let you two take her?!"

Hel chuckled. "And you claimed we were the hot headed imbeciles. Tell me, is there really any chance that two spirits, a sprite, and one oracle Titan can stop us when countless gods could not?"

"There is."

A flash of steel was the only warning for the deities to dodge the projectile, yet two fearlings managed to shield them in time.

However, Emily Jane managed to fling Hel into a tree with a whip made of plants; Tsar cocooned Hel in a ball of light.

"Hel!" Holler screamed, unsheathing his Ulfberht ***(1)** sword, "You shall regret what you have done!"

A legion of fearlings erupted from the shadows of the trees, rushing at the quartet. Anemone blocked the creatures with her winds as Themis squared stray fearlings with her daggers. This left Tsar and Emily Jane with Holler, who immediately rushed to the clearing.

"I see that you two passed through my fearlings," Holler seethed, "It won't be as easy to defeat me."

Tsar swung his Ingelrii  ***(2)** sword at Holler, who blocked the attack with an obsidian shield that seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Vines erupted from the ground, only to be diced by Holler's weapon.

"You believed that it would be that simple to capture me? Ha!"

Holler slashed at Tsar's white tunic, staining the fabric with Tsar's own blood. A shadow roped up Emily Jane, effectively squashing her control on the elements.

Even with the injury, Tsar continued fighting. He once again attacked, this time piercing Holler's forearm.

"I see that you still have some fight left, Tsar." Holler nodded, approvingly. "You are not as weak as other warriors who fall after one blow."

Tsar responded, "Well, I'm just special."

"Then," Holler drawled, launching himself at Tsar, "Pitch chose the right specimen for Hel's Fearling Prince."

Tsar's Ingelrii clashed with Holler's Ulfberht.

The duel continued for at least half an hour, metal striking against metal for the umpteenth time as the two men struggled to determine a winner. The fight was ended when Holler buried his sword into Tsar's side.

The man collapsed in pain, kneeling down so that he didn't completely drop to the ground. Holler yanked his weapon from Tsar's flesh, swatting the blood onto his victim's face.

"Now, I have never been so challenged before! To think you haven't even unlocked your full potential power."

Holler squatted, staying eye level with Tsar. He cupped Tsar's bloody chin, forcing the spirit to look into his black irises. "Quite a shame that your life is leeching away. It would have been entertaining to see that magic whither in my hands."

Holler rose from his crouched position, towering over Tsar, who was smiling softly.

The full moon, that had been blocked by shadows prior to the mini duel, now shone brighter than before, moonlight cascading down to the field. The beams lifted Tsar up in their gentle embrace as they healed all of his injuries. The only indication that Tsar nearly died was the large bloodstain on his right side.

The spirit's eyes started glowing a harsh white. "There is one thing you've forgotten, Holler."

Tsar shot a beam of white light at Holler, another at the bonds holding his beloved. Emily Jane broke free from the shadow's hold and ensnared the weakened god in a tangle of vines.

Tsar stood in front of Holler. "You may be strongest in the dark, but I'm even stronger in the moonlight."

Just on time, Anemone soared towards the couple, dragging Themis behind. The sprite laughed triumphantly. "I told you they were here!"

"Alright." Themis rolled her blue eyes. "May you put me down now, Anemone?"

Anemone complied and gently placed Themis in between Tsar and Emily Jane. The girl landed on the other side of Emily Jane.

Themis glanced at her comrades, bluntly ignoring the wounds they had. "Ready?"  
Anemone turned to Themis. "For what?"

"To imprison Holler, of course," Themis answered, "I need for you three to share your power with me. I am too weak to bind him."

Once the other three understood what they had to do, they all joined hands, pouring their magic into Themis. None expected for Themis to radiate the green aura she did then.

With her eyes shining bright green, body surrounded by a hazy, jade mist, Themis commanded her friends, "Repeat after me."

Thus, the Quartet ended up reciting a Greek chant, "Με μας ενωμένα δύναμη, θα φυλακίζουν Holler, ο Νορβηγός Θεός του Θανάτου και της Καταστροφής, μέχρι να έρθει η ώρα για να τον αφήσουν." ***(3)**

The mist peeled away from Themis to form a tomb made of imperial gold. Emily Jane willed the vines to toss the struggling Holler into the container, which caused the tomb to instantly snap shut, sealing the bound death god inside. Green lettering carved itself onto the lid, as if by an invisible hand.

The inscription read,

_The time for Ragnarök will appear_  
_Only the child of moon and nature can stop the fear_  
_Their frosted blood is the key to light or darkness_  
_Which shall raise Destruction, who is heartless_  
_In order to restore balance_  
_Mighty heroes are to be challenged_

With a rumbling sound, the ground slowly absorbed the prison, transporting it to an unknown location.

Themis smiled. "Congratulations, we all did something that all the other gods combined could not accomplish: imprisoning Holler."

Instead of celebrating, Tsar frowned. "Isn't there a catch to this type of magic?"

Themis's rare smile dropped. "Yes."

"What is it, Themis?" Anemone questioned.

The Titan bit her lip. "One of our offspring is cursed to bring back Holler. From the prophecy, I would say that fate chose Tsar Lunar XII's and Emily Jane's child."

"What?!" Emily Jane shrieked, "One of our kids!"

Tsar slowly stroked Emily's arm. "Relax Em, I know that our baby will do the right thing."

"Also, he or she shall become a hero." Themis added.

Whatever peace Tsar brought to Emily Jane was blasted away by Themis's declaration. "I DO NOT WANT MY CHILDREN TO BE DAMN HEROES WITH GRIEF FILLED LIVES!"

Emily Jane promptly lowered her voice, "I wanted them to live normal, peaceful lives. Now, because I decided not to fight alongside the Guardians in their fight against my father, my offspring are cursed to continue this wretched game. At least we captured Hel and Holler."

Anemone scratched the back of her neck sheepishly, messing with her short cropped hair. "Ummm, about that...I think she escaped."

"Excuse me?!" Emily Jane faced Anemone, anger sketching her features. "Are you telling me that the person we truly came for is missing?"

Without waiting for a response, Emily gripped onto Tsar's arm and furiously shot off into the sky, stunning the two left at the field.

"Aww, c'mon." Anemone pouted, breaking the silence between herself and the Titan. "Jackson would have been the perfect name for their first baby. Jackson Overland. Isn't it super adorbs, Themis?"

"No, it is not 'super adorbs', and we need to catch up with Emily Jane before she creates a tornado," Themis responded coldly.

Anemone merely shrugged. "Hmph, you didn't have to be so grumpy about it." A mischievous smirk grew on her face. "Though, if you really insist on trailing them…" Abruptly, Anemone grabbed Themis's arm and soared off.

Little did they know that, in the battlefield they just left, a fluttering, black cape, was promptly snatched away by a shadowy hand. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it for the prologue! Now, some definitions of the starred things (Info copied off of wiki for first two. Sue me, I'm too lazy xD):
> 
> *(1) Medivial sword made out of rare high carbon steel found in Europe, dated to the 9th to 11th centuries. One side of the blade had +VLFBERH+T or +VLFBERHT+ carved into the metal. The reverse side of the blade is inlaid with a geometric pattern, usually a braid pattern between vertical strokes. Similar to a cross of the Viking sword and a high Medivial knightly sword.
> 
> *(2) The Ingelrii group of Viking swords are characterised by their blade inscriptions, stylised as INGELRII, INGELRD or INGELRILT. They are somewhat younger than the better known (and better attested) Ulfberht group, and they continued to be made until somewhat later into the 12th century.
> 
> *(3) English translation: With our united power, we will imprison Holler, the Norse God of Death and Destruction, until the time comes for him to be released.
> 
> I understand that this is a really long prologue, but what'd you expect from a battle scene? Also, as people typically get confused by my OCs, I'll be including an OCs list at the bottom of my ANs.
> 
> List of OCs Mentioned So Far: 
> 
> Mother Nature (GoC character with OC traits)  
> Tsar Lunar XII (GoC character with OC traits)  
> Anemone  
> Themis  
> Hel  
> Holler


	2. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All Jack wanted to do was have a little fun with the Burgess gang before tying up the ends of winter. He never expected to be attacked, especially by who his assailants were.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I know I said that I'd be updating every other week, but ehh just having the prologue is kinda poopy, especially since it just introduces four MAJOR OCs/Characters from GoC. Also, most of my tags come in a lot later into the story, so just bare with me, okay?
> 
> Anyway, I finally introduce this character named Jokül (I sometimes spell it as Jökul too) but I need to tell you this:
> 
> Italicized text is Jack's thoughts/Jack talking to Jokül  
> Bolded Italicizes text is Jokül talking to Jack
> 
> Now, ON TO THE STORY!

(Burgess, Pennsylvania 2014)

A small toddler, around five years old, peered out her bedroom window. Earlier, she was playing multiple games, her ruffled, dirty-blonde hair and Easter themed pajamas even more messed up than usual. She continued staring till it began to snow.

Squealing, she ran out of the bedroom and into her brother’s, Jamie Bennett.

“Woah Sophie! What's going on?” The brunette placed his pencil on top of his math homework.

Sophie screamed out, “IT'S SNOWING!!!”

“Wait, what?!” Jamie spun towards the window, excitement etched over his face. “Soph, you know what this means?”

“SNOW DAY!!” Sophie jumped, creating a ruckus as she tripped over Jamie’s bed.

Jamie laughed while Sophie tried standing up. “True, but it's better than that!”

Sophie rubbed her chin while she thought. Once she realized what her brother was hinting, she shrieked even louder, “Jack! Jack's here! I wanna see Jack!”

“Okay Soph, as soon as I finish this suckish geometry homework.” Jamie slammed his pencil onto the oak desk. “Ugh!”

Just then, a snowball splattered on Jamie's window. The two ran up and saw a white haired teen, dressed in centuries-old twine pants as well as a blue hoodie, frosted at the sleeves, floating nearby, holding his Shepherd's staff in his right hand.

“What's holding you up kiddo? I didn't make the snow for nothing, you know.”

Jamie unlocked the window, opening it so the immortal could enter. Once he came in, Jamie promptly shut the opening.

“Homework,” Jamie groaned once his guest settled down, “Mom made a rule saying I have to finish it before playing just because I didn't do my homework a couple of times!”

The teen, Jack Frost, quirked a brow. “Really? How much is a couple of times?”

“Uhhhh,” Jamie paused, counting on his fingers, “25 since January? Still, it’s a Saturday!”

Jack chuckled, “Well then mister, finish that up quickly before I get bored.”

Jamie took his pencil, pointing it at Jack, who sat on top of Jamie's bed with Sophie in his lap. “That’s the thing! I'm stuck with this last math problem!”

“Let me see if I could help.”

“Umm, I don't think you could solve this,” Jamie told Jack.

Jack rolled his blue eyes, outstretching his hand. “Just give me the paper, Jamie.”

Thus, the sixth grader gave the rest of his homework to an immortal over three hundred years old.

Jack scanned through the diagram. “Pencil.” Jamie handed him the wooden tool.

After scribbling down numbers and angles for a bit, Jack passed the worksheet back, the answer written down with detailed work and some frost doodles.

Jamie stared at his elder which got Jack nervous.

“What?” Jack asked.

Jamie blinked owlishly, looking back at the sheet. “How'd you solve this?!”

“Simple, just find the height of the triangle and the rest is set,” Jack explained.

“Wow, you do know more than history!”

Jack blankly stared at the kid. “Really. You know, just because nobody sees me doesn't mean I don't learn some stuff you guys do. Anyway, I made the work your level since I've seen how that teacher grades things.” His nose scrunched up. “Ugh, he's such a sourpuss too.”

Jamie giggled. “Nobody thinks he has a social life out of school.”

“Got that right,” Jack scoffed, “Now, are you done?”

“Yep.”

From that one word, Sophie jumped out of Jack's lap and tugged the two downstairs, stomping on each step excitedly.

“Snow! Snow! Snow!”

Jamie laughed as they were still going down the stairwell. “Okay, but mom would kill us if we went without some jackets.”

“Jamie, Sophie, you two alright?” A woman called from the kitchen once they reached the living room.

Jamie responded, “Yeah mom, just going out with Jack Frost!”

“Oka—ay!” Their mother drawled, “Tell him I said hi. Before you go, did you finish your school work?”

“Yes, mooooom.” Jamie snatched a light blue jacket plus a smaller, hot pink overcoat from a coat rack beside the door and two pairs of woolen pants, dressing himself and Sophie up. “Ready Jack!”

Mrs. Bennett added, “Be safe!”

“We will!” Jamie swung open the door, stepping out onto the snow with Sophie in tow.

“Oh and Jamie,” Mrs. Bennett's voice held a faint twinge of nervousness mixed with remorse, “don't…”

“Go on the pond or in the forest!” Jamie shouted back, “I know!”

The cinnamon haired woman walked into her living room. “Well then, have fun.”

Jack replied outside, even though he knew the woman probably wouldn’t hear him, “I promise on that!”

Jack threw a snowball at his first believer and scampered off on the winds, Jamie chasing after him, Sophie tagging alongside her brother.

After a while, Jack slowed down purposely, allowing Jamie to catch up. “You know, it’d be even more fun if your friends were out.”

Jamie panted, “Ye—ah… got any ideas?”

“You know my idea.” With a whisk of his staff, Jack made a pile of his signature icy projectiles. “Go ahead.”

Jamie and Sophie smirked, grabbing an armful while running down the street towards a two story home.

“Caleb! Claude! Snow day!” Jamie yelled as Sophie pelted the twins’ bedroom window with snowballs.

Jack zoomed past, two girls, one with ash brown hair and the other with reddish brown locks, following beside him as they sled in the streets on top of the ice that directed the two. “Jamie, hurry up!”

“Guys, get Monty and I’ll meet you guys at the park!”

“Okay!” The reddish brown haired girl, Pippa, shouted back, trying to keep her green beanie from falling off as she left.

“Jack’s here!” He fired another snowball, the object plunking off the glass surface.

The window finally opened, a chocolate skinned boy poking his head out, glaring at the two siblings. “What is it Jamie? We were sleeping!”

Jamie stared back, eyes wide. “Woah, it’s 2!”

“Am?” Another boy, a duplicate to the other tanned boy, asked.

“Suuuure and I’m suddenly a spirit.”

“Cool!” The new boy, Claude, replied.

His twin, Caleb, facepalmed. “No! He’s being sarcastic.”

“I know Caleb, I was joking.” Claude laughed. “Okay, we’re comin’! Where to?”

Sophie squealed, “The park!”

“Meet you there!” Caleb bellowed.

For fun, Jamie and Sophie struck them each in the face with snowballs, earning shouts in return. They both dashed off, heading towards Burgess Park.

Once they arrived, their friends bombarded them.

“What took so long?” The dark haired girl, nicknamed Cupcake, questioned.

A blonde boy wearing green glasses, Monty, spoke quietly, “Yeah?”

“Caleb and Claude were still sleeping.”

Everyone gaped. “What?”

Jamie nodded his head. “I know right! And so we’ll have to wait a bit.”

“Not really!” Out came the two twins, bundled up in a jacket and woolen pants like everyone else.

Caleb elbowed his brother, who gave them away. “Hey, I thought we were going to sneak up on them!”

“How'd you get here so quickly?!” Jamie asked, stopping the two from arguing like they always do.

“Skipped chores!” The twins responded.

Jack perked a brow. “Let me guess, breakfast too?”

“Yep!” Claude beamed. “Don't worry tho, we always do that.”

“Well then...” Jack hurled a snowball at the twins. “Hope you two have enough energy to get me!” He bounded off into the trees, the others trying to strike him. It was a game of cat, well cats, and mouse till Pippa froze.

“No fair!” Pippa whined, “You shouldn't use your powers.”

Jack swooped down from the latest plant he landed in. They had reached an area near the forest boundaries, the fence blocking them. “Why not, milady?”

“Be-because-” Pippa stammered, embarrassed by the title Jack gave her, “We're outnumbered!”

“Me against seven of you.”

“What she means I-I think,” Monty spoke, “Is that we don't have any way to get at you.”

Jack grinned, happy for the preteen to go against his self-consciousness. “Hmm, I see your point. I'll stop.”

After finally landing, Jack dashed off, the rest trailing behind.

They all reached a random street, when Jack stopped, getting cornered since the wind wasn't helping him escape.

“We win!” Jamie declared as soon as he reached the area, pouncing on top of the teen.

All the other kids followed suit, Monty slightly hesitant. It ended up becoming a massive tickle war, Jack at the bottom.

“Hahahaha!” Jack giggled, squirming in their touch.

Jamie felt the immortal’s feet, earning a hoot of laughter. “Guys! It's his feet!”

Pippa, Claude, and Caleb lunged at his tootsies, freeing up most of the upper part of Jack’s body. The immortal bent over, teasing Jamie's open armpits.

“Jaaaaahahahack!” Jamie laughed.

Pippa, noticing an available spot under his arms, took it and tickled along the fabric.

The North wind, Jack’s wind, noticed her spiritual brother chuckling and decided to join in the fun with her invisible hands.

“HAHAHAHA!!!! Wi-hahaha-nd! Bet… hahahahaHAHAHA… ray… hahahaHAHAHAHAha… er!!!”

“Wind!” Sophie bounced on Jack's stomach, gaining more laughs.

“Guys… hahaha haha hahaha…stoooop!!!” Jack spat out, not sure whether to be annoyed or happy at their tickling.

Pippa triumphed over. “Admit that we are the lordlings of snowball fights!!!”

Jack grinned. “You are!”

The group halted, finally tired out as they all laid on top of a gasping Jack.

“Not that it wasn't fun…” Jack trailed off, sitting up. “...but this calls for revenge!

With that, he dumped a gallon of snow over the individuals, getting yelps from them all as they leaped off him.

Jack backflipped into the air, flying past them after striking each one with a cold snowball.

Cupcake shrieked, which she normally didn't do, “Get him!”

They all chased the immortal, failing to get a single blow on him. However, Jack managed to land enough projectiles for their clothes to be covered in a thin dusting of ice particles.

“Jack! Slow down!” Cupcake shouted.

Jack chuckled as he jumped onto a branch. “No can do Cupcake. All's fair in a snowball fight!”

“Jack, it’s supposed to be all’s fair in love and war,” Monty corrected.

“Neh, I like my phrase better.” Jack threw more snow at them, earning an extra loud squeal from the Cupcake.

The teen backflipped from the branch, landing on the ground. Before he could sprint away, the Burgess gang launched so many snowballs at him, there was a mini cloud of snow blinding them all.

It soon cleared, revealing everyone lying down on the white powdered ground, covered in snowflakes.

“Tired,” Sophie panted.

Jamie stood up, helping his younger sibling. “Monty, Pippa, what time is it?”

Monty checked his watch. “WHAT?!”

“Woah, what's wrong Monty?” Caleb asked.

“It's already 5!”

“WHAAAAT?!?!” The seventh graders all squeaked.

Claude cringed, remembering something. “Caleb, mom told us to return by 5:05 or we'll get double chores.”

“Seriously, you just thought of telling me that?” Caleb nearly slapped his brother.

Jack shrugged, not really understanding the issue. “Well, there's still time.”

“We don’t even know where we are!” Caleb proclaimed. It was true, for the group managed to wander off somewhere close to the park.

Jack said, “Well, prepare for a lovely flight!”

“Wha—aahhhh!” Claude, as well as Caleb, were suddenly snatched up by Jack, soaring through the sky. They arrived at their home in a heartbeat.

“Woah thanks, Jack.” Caleb brushed off the snow on his jacket.

“Yeah!” Claude added.

Jack responded, “No prob! Just don't freak out after having a dose of fun like adults do, alright?”

“Okay! See ya later!”

Jack then flew back to the rest, not realizing the situation he got tangled up in. Apparently, the others also had to get home soon, which explained why Pippa, as well as Jamie, clung on Jack’s back, Sophie nestled in his arms and Cupcake clutched his staff free hand as they all were in the clouds.

Finally getting to the last stop, the Bennett household, Jack dropped down near the area, Jamie immediately leaping off.

Sophie yawned. “Sleepy…”

“I know Soph, you're back home now,” Jack gently placed the toddler in Jamie”s outstretched arms.

“Thanks for the snow day Jack!”

Jack held his staff in a surrender position. “Eh, for fun!” He later gestured to the brunette mother waiting for her offsprings. “Now, your mom is probably waiting to see you.”

“Snow day?” Sophie randomly piped up, shifting her head so she saw Jack.

Jack genuinely beamed. “Sure thing Soph, check this Friday.”

“Yay!” With that, Jamie sprinted back to his guardian, Jack playfully shouting out that he should go slower so the kid doesn't drop Sophie.

Before leaving, Jack noticed Jamie telling the lady about the upcoming snow day. She merely shook her head fondly; however, her brown eyes met Jack’s blue ones and lingered. She gave him a grateful smile, Jack only able to blink in shock. When he glanced back, it was as if nothing occurred.

 _‘Probably imagined it.’_ Jack thought as he shot off to his home, the pond where he rose from over three centuries ago. 

* * *

Once Jack reached his destination, the boy swooped down on the frozen surface of his “home”.

Jack sighed as he spun in lazy circles. “Ahhhh, nothing better than here. No work, just fun!”

The teen twirled an impressive skating move that even the best figure skater in the world couldn't do, landing gracefully as if he'd practiced for hours.

He continued his dance on the ice until he felt another immortal being settling down on his territory.

Jack skidded to a stop once he noticed the Japanese woman waiting for him on the pond’s bank. “Yuki Onna! How’s everything been?”

Yuki flicked away a strand of her thigh long, silken, straight hair and did a short curtsy, her white kimono bobbing slightly. “The court has been alright Ou-sama. However, I am here to deliver a message from Lady Nature.”

“Oh, Yuki.” Jack sighed. “I've told you so many times, please no formalities. We're friends outside of the court, not whatever that's called.”

Yuki smiled. “I know ou—Jack. Although, I believe this would indeed count as a formal greeting for I still have that message.”

“Okay, okay! So, what'd Mother want this time?” Jack questioned.

“I am here to inform you that Lady Nature will be rescheduling the Seasonal Meeting later this month to Friday in this time zone.”

“What?” Jack whined, “I have a Guardian Meeting on Friday!”

“Just tell them you must attend Lady Nature’s meeting.” One look at Jack’s nervous face made her continue, “You never told them, have you?”

Jack gulped. “Ummm, maybe?”

“Ou-sama.” Yuki rubbed the area between her sculpted eyebrows. “I told you both your jobs will clash eventually. You have to skip that meeting. Lady Nature ordered us to attend; you cannot miss it.”

Jack curled his toes, eyes shifting down to the ice. “I know, I know. But, the Guardians’ll kill me if I don’t go. I missed 5 already in 3 months.”

Yuki crossed her arms. “If you tell them now, they may excuse you.”

“Just one thing, I can’t!” Jack replied, “Yuki, I can’t just strut in there and tell them their newest member is an 180 of what they thought!”

As if in response to his emotions, the light flurry around them grew denser, shaping into a small snow squall.

“Jack-sama, calm down.”

Jack noticed the forming storm, quickly trying to reign it in. However, his magic was only making it worse. He then realized. “Yuki, I’m not making this…”

Yuki blinked in surprise. “Then who is?”

A trail of ice began crystallizing from where Jack was standing, going off into the dense forest. Jack, struck by curiosity, dashed along the path, Yuki hot on his tail.

“Get back! It may be a possible threat!” Yuki called as she slipped on the ice again, not having Jack’s stability. What she said just caused Jack to speed up.

The ice stopped at a clearing, at the center a broken, wooden bed frame.

Jack skidded off cautiously, Yuki colliding with him from behind. Jack toppled over as well, making a mini pileup with him at the bottom.

Jack crawled out, helping Yuki get up.

Yuki asked, “Where are we?”

“Pitch’s lair,” Jack replied, “What I don’t get is why. We defeated him two years ago.”

Yuki looked around, spotting a patch of blue on the other side of the plain, the forest. “I believe this is why,” she whispered, gesturing to the area she saw the unnatural color.

Jack squinted in that direction, holding his staff out defensively. “Who’s there?”

A goddess walked into the glade, her robe-like dress swirling around her like her black, curled locks that floated along a breeze.

“Khione,” Yuki grounded out, impolite for once.

Khione merely chuckled. “Hello to you as well Yuki Onna.”

“What do you want?” Jack stared at Khione, annoyed.

“What do you think, Jackie?”

Jack frowned. “You’ll have to fight then and it's obvious you by yourself can't get us.”

“Whoever said I was alone?” Khione teased.

On cue, a woman in a familiar blood-red dress materialized from the darkness, skull necklace radiating an aura of death, the only newest accessory being the silk, black cloak with Gods know how many concealed weapons.

Jack's eyes widened. “Death!” He blinked, giving a sarcastic smile. “How lovely to see you.”

“You as well, Frost,” Death sneered, “My, your fear is exquisite.”

“Doesn't Pitch control that?” Jack questioned.

Death, Hel, spat out, “Oh, and how did that failure get his power? No matter, it shall be worth it to see you crumble.”

With that, Hel attacked Jack with the shadow underneath him.

“Ah!” Jack froze the tendril, shooting up into the air, only to get pushed down by Khione’s wind.

Yuki, with her power, summoned a magnificent ice sword, the blade reaching a fine point.

She began to slash away the fearlings that were forming around Jack as he tried to stand.

“Jack-sama!” Yuki yelled out once Jack got up, “Your weapon!”

Jack, trying to blast away all the shadow creatures, replied, “Yuki, I don't carry that thing around and Jokul only knows how to call it!”

“Then release Jokul!”

Jack thrust his staff into another fearling. “Are you out of your mind?! There are people NEAR here!”

“So?” Yuki exterminated multiple fearlings in rapid succession.

Jack turned to Yuki. “Seriously? Jamie lives close by!”

While Jack was distracted, a fearling grabbed ahold of his arm, pulling him to the ground.

“Ou-sama!” Yuki yelled as she propelled herself to her fallen leader; however, she instantly got hit by a shadow Death shot.

She instantly fell unconscious.

Jack ran to his fallen comrade, to duck from one of Death’s incapacitating blows. Khione lashed at his side, knocking Jack into a rock formation on the pond’s banks.

Jack groaned as he got back up, noticing the two females circling him as the fearlings were called back.

 _‘Guess they think I'm going to lose’_  
**_‘You will if you do not release me this instant!’_** A harsh voice replied in the immortal’s head.  
Jack rolled his eyes, evading another attack. _‘Shut, Jokül. I can handle this.’_  
**_‘Oh, really Ungr Vetr_ *(1)?’** Jokül mocked, **_‘Your Head Seasonal is currently unable to battle and you are heavily outnumbered.’_**  
Jack fired two bolts of ice at his enemies, earning two yelps. _‘Told you so!’_  
**_‘You should watch out.’_**

Jack dodged a swipe of one of Khione’s ice daggers that nearly grazed his forearm.

Hel hollered, “You are not allowed to cut him!”

 _‘Huh?’_  
Jokül’s voice boomed in Jack's mind, **_‘Get out as soon as possible!!’_**  
_‘Naw, I came here for ice cream. Kinda part of the plan already, Jokül.’_  
_**‘I am being serious, Ungr Vetr. Leave!’**_ Jokül hissed.  
Jack huffed after he got swatted into a tree, courtesy of Khione's wind, _‘I'm trying to but can't. What about Yuki?’_  
_**‘Yuki will stay,’**_ Jokül said as Jack rose up again.  
_‘No!’_

Jack kicked Khione in the abdomen, sending her whooshing into a tree. He then backflipped from one of Death’s shadow balls.

“Bad choice calling back your reinforcements.”

Death chuckled. “Then what fun would it be to fight against you when my servants do most of the work.”

Jack shrugged his shoulders. “I see your point.”

Unknown to Jack, Khione aimed a dart at him, the tip coated in a substance that makes a target fall asleep, nightmare sand.

Nevertheless, Jökul noticed it. **_‘Watch out!’_**

Jack catapulted into the air, the dart lodging itself into a tree. The plant immediately turned black, crumbling away.

 _‘That's close!’_  
_**‘Release me Ungr Vetr!’**_ Jokül suddenly pleaded, _**‘I can turn the tide around.’**_  
_'I—I can't! Jamie and the others in Burgess will get hurt!'_  
**_‘The whole universe may get hurt if you are captured!’_**  
Jack tried leaping into the arms of his wind, but Khione cut him off with hers. Jack fell down. _‘How?’_  
If Jokül was in a physical form, he would've closed his eyes. _**‘That, Ungr Vetr, you may not understand yet.’**_  
_‘Why not?’_ Jack whined, _‘I need to know!’_  
_**‘What you need to do is summon your sword!’**_  
_‘I can't!’_ Jack landed on the side of a tree with a rattling thump.

Death, in an instant, held a Stygian Iron dagger at Jack’s throat. The agonizing burn from the substance caused Jack to freeze in place.

“Like it? I use this for pesky light spirits like you.”

Jack glared into the menace’s red eyes as she slowly pulled out a small glass bottle of nightmare sand from the shadows of her cloak.

“Unfortunately, Pitch is the only one able to bend this creation on his own will. Most of the time that is.” Hel spat out the last sentence as she painstakingly uncorked the bottle with her mouth, the soft pop echoing in Jack’s ears.

Jack gulped. _‘What was it you were talking about Jokül?’_  
**_‘Let me summon the sword for you. Just unleash me long enough to do so.’_**

Jack stared at the obsidian dagger placed on his neck. “O-okay, I release you Jokül.”

A sudden sky blue light seared through the area, emitted by Jack. Hel stepped back from the blinding flash, Khione grinning slightly while she stood beside Hel. The snow goddess’s arms were crossed over her black waistband.

As soon as the light appeared, it dissipated, revealing a slightly smirking Jack holding onto an ice blade katana, the golden pommel dressed in light, swirling, white designs. The tips of his white hair were dusted in hoar frost, winter blue irises glowing a hypnotic cyan.

Jack rushed at the duo, nicking Death’s arm in the process. Deep red, nearly black, blood dripped out, infuriating the goddess.

Khione, on the other hand, was smiling as if she won the lottery. “Hello, Jokül Frösti.”

“Khione,” Jack—no, Jökul—grounded out. Jokül lashed at the goddess; nevertheless, Khione was ready and dodged.

Hel sent out a wave of fearlings that soon dematerialized once coming in contact with Jokül’s aura.

 _‘Jokül, you promised to come back once you got my katana!’_ Jack whispered inside Jokül’s mind.  
Jokül swung at Khione. **_‘Let me handle this Ungr Vetr.’_**  
_‘No!’_  
_**‘Why not?!’**_ Jokül got sent back by a wave of Khione’s ice.  
Jack whined, _‘You'll hurt the people of Burgess. Get back!’_  
**_‘They will get hurt more if you are in control.’_** Jokül reasoned, crashing into a tree.  
_‘Please! And you're getting distracted. I'll handle this! I know I can.’_  
**_‘You were not able to at the beginning!! Also, you are the one distracting me, stay silent!’_**  
Jack whimpered but listened.

Khione, noticing how Jokül wasn't responding, taunted, “Having issues Jokül?”

“Shut up Snær Bikkja ***(2)** ,”Jokül snapped.

“From your lover to a snow bitch.” Khione laughed amusedly. “What happened to the Jokül that loved me?”

Jokül met Khione's near black orbs as he went up to her. “That spirit hadn't existed for centuries.”

“Is it because of what I have done to your precious Ungr Vetr?” Khione smirked when Jokül faltered in his approach.

Jokül was so sucked into the conversation that he wasn't able to sense Hel advancing from behind him.

Jack, however, had. _‘Jokül!’_  
**_‘What is it this time Ungr Vetr?’_** Jokül shouted mentally.  
_‘Behind you!’_

Jokül turned around, only to get struck in the face with a handful of nightmare sand.

“Sweet nightmares, Frost.” were Hel’s last words before Jokül’s, and Jack’s, world fell into darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, that was a doozy, hmm? If you have any questions or criticisms, go ahead and place a comment. I typically listen to all comments as it is.
> 
> Now, definitions (I might spell it wrong since I'm not looking back at the story):
> 
> *(1): Ungr Vetr— Young Winter  
> *(2): Snær Bikkja— Snow Bitch
> 
> List of OCs mentioned so far:
> 
> Mother Nature (GoC character with OC traits)  
> Tsar Lunar XII (GoC character with OC traits)  
> Anemone  
> Themis  
> Hel  
> Holler  
> Yuki-Onna  
> Khione (Sortaish from PJO with OC traits)


	3. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuki Onna knew that she had to tell Mother Nature about Jack's kidnapping. At least, so that she could get help in rescuing him before it's too late.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I'm so sorry for not updating! I haven't gotten into the habit of updating on here or using Ao3, when I really should. Still, thanks for the kudos! This fanfic never has been popular around websites (probably due to the later angst) and now I feel like it might be a hit on here! Anyway, I'll be just giving that update now

(Mother Nature's Palace)

For the umpteenth time, Emily Jane, or known as Mother Nature, strolled through the halls of her extravagant palace. She occasionally passed by small, square, decorative tables, each set up with a bouquet of flowers in a delicately patterned vase. The golden walls glowed against the white tiled floors, contrasting yet blending together in a unique way. Mother Nature was immune to this beauty, focusing more on trying to find the person she sensed inside.

Most of the servants roaming around hadn’t tried to stop her. That is until a cinnamon haired boy holding a tray of tea decided it was high time somebody did something.

When Mother Nature rushed past him, he politely intercepted her. “Are you alright, Lady Nature?”

Mother Nature paused and turned her attention to the boy who bowed quickly. “I am fine, Peter. By any chance, are there any guests?”

“Yeah, Yuki-Onna just came in a while ago.” Peter’s sea blue eyes glanced at the tray in his hands. “Actually Lady Nature, I was going to deliver this to Yuki-Onna right now.”

“Hmm, where is Yuki-Onna at the moment?” Mother Nature asked.

“Oh, right! Yuki-Onna’s currently at the private gardens. Would you like for me to escort you there, Lady Nature?”

Mother Nature replied, “Yes, that would be highly appreciated.”

Peter stepped out of the way. “Right, this way my lady.”

They both walked briskly through the halls until reaching two intricately designed, stained glass doors. Peter opened them both and revealed the most elegant garden in the lands.

Hedges, trimmed to perfection, guarded the area against intruders. Trees were scattered orderly around the area, some blooming flowers that were not in season yet. Waves of thousands of different rippled from each tree, blending together in perfect harmony. A few servants meandered over the area, tending the vegetation. A whitewashed trail led from the house to a sparkling patio at the center of the garden. Two cherry trees were set to each side of the patio, a large tea table in between. In a pink, cushioned seat was none other than Yuki. Once noticing the arrival of her queen, Yuki stood and swiftly, but gracefully, curtsied.

Mother Nature walked towards Yuki, green dress dragging behind her. “You may rise, Yuki-Onna.”

Yuki obeyed, sitting down once Mother Nature had. Peter brought over the tray of tea and was about to leave when Mother Nature raised a baggy sleeved arm to stop him.

“Before you leave, I would love to thank you for helping me.”

Peter bowed. “You're welcome, Lady Nature. Is there anything else you would like?”

Mother Nature dropped her hand. “No, that is all. Although, I would appreciate it if you escort any other guests here.”

Peter nodded and left the area.

“So,” Mother Nature drawled, facing Yuki, “Why have you come, Yuki-Onna?”

“This is about Jack-sama,” Yuki replied.

Mother Nature poured out two cups of tea as she said, “Did he react poorly to my rescheduling?”

“Um yes, but that was not why I came,” Yuki answered.

“Sugar?” Mother Nature held out the small sugar bowl.

Yuki blinked, surprised at the abrupt interruption. “I suppose so. Three cubes please.”

Mother Nature dropped the sugar cubes into each teacup, mixing creamer in as well. She handed Yuki a flowered cup and sipped from her own.

“Why did you come?” Mother Nature began.

Yuki sucked lightly on her lip. “Jack-sama has been…kidnapped by Khione and Hel.”

“What?!” Mother Nature dropped her cup, shattering it on the table. Fortunately, the spill hadn't stained Mother Nature’s green dress before she evaporated the drink away. “Where were you at this time?”

“I had gotten knocked unconscious while trying to defend him,” Yuki responded.

“No,” Mother Nature whispered, resolve slightly falling. Thus, Mother Nature started picking up the broken pieces, so it looked as if she hadn't said anything. “Are you absolutely positive it was them?”

“Yes, Lady Nature.” Yuki looked at her hands that were placed in her lap. “When I woke up, there was nightmare sand.”

Mother Nature’s face lit up with hope. “That could mean that it was my father! It must be Pitch Black.”

“One situation,” Yuki paused, “I fought against Khione.”

“Khione could have teamed up with Pitch.”

Yuki continued, “Hel knocked me out with a shadow. Pitch cannot manipulate shadows.”

Yuki took a bundle of cloth from the empty chair beside her and unwrapped it in her lap. Inside, there was an uncorked, small, cracked, glass bottle. The worst part was that the bottle was halfway full of black sand.

“Also, this.” Yuki handed the cloth to Mother Nature. “Pitch would never store his sand in a container if he could make it easily, like what Heikka has told me.”

Mother Nature stared at the glass in unconcealed horror. “Oh no, what will Hel do once she knows?”

Yuki took the parcel back. “Lady Nature, Hel does not have the tomb. It will be like last time.”

“I wished this was the case. However, Themis reported the tomb has been taken. Hel has finally found him.” Mother Nature shook her head.

Yuki glanced at the door, noticing Peter's arrival. “Lady Nature, you servant has arrived.”

“Hmmm, what is it, Peter?” Mother Nature faced the teen.

Peter bowed respectfully. “You have more guests, Lady Nature. It is Lady Themis and Lady Anemone.”

Peter opened the door, but his grip slipped and it slammed into Anemone's face.

“Ow!” Anemone groaned, holding her bruised nose.

Peter's eyes widened. “Lady Anemone! I'm terribly sorry! Here, I'll bring some ice.”

“Neh, it is…” Anemone trailed off when she realized Peter ran off, “Okay.”

Themis walked up to the patio and sat down next to Mother Nature. Anemone placed herself with Yuki, adjusting her yellow, ankle low dress and flicking a long strand of white hair out of her face.

“I presume this is also terrible news?” Mother Nature pursed her lips.

“Yes,” Themis said gravely, “There is an even larger epidemic spreading now ever since both Maat and Adrestia turned out missing.”

“Also, the North Wind lost her connection with Jack Frost,” Anemone added, “Where is he?”

Mother Nature sighed. “From what Yuki-Onna has told me, Jack is currently Hel’s captive.”

“Have you called the other Seasonals?” Themis questioned.

Mother Nature grimaced. “No, I actually have not thought about that.”

That was when Peter came back, ice pack in hand. He rushed over and handed it to Anemone.

“Again Lady Anemone, I apologize for accidentally hitting you.”

Anemone accepted the ice. “No, it’s alright, Peter. No need to say sorry.”

“Yes, now be gone.” Themis glared at Peter, who interrupted their conversation.

Peter softly whimpered under the stare. Before he could leave, Mother Nature called him, “Peter, may you please do me a favor?”

“Anything, Lady Nature!” Peter nodded his head.

Mother Nature smiled. “Send a message to the Seasonal Sovereigns. They must report at once to the throne room for an impromptu meeting. Only deliver this to the Sovereigns, the Head Seasonals and balance leaders will be called upon later. Understand?”

“Yes, Lady Nature!” Peter dashed off as soon as Mother Nature dismissed him.

“Care for some tea?” Mother Nature inquired once Peter left, pouring three cups. “Unfortunately, it may be a tad cold.”

“You should have told your servant to retrieve more,” Themis side commented.

Anemone rolled her eyes. “What’s gotten you in such a funk?”

“I thought we agreed that you would stop with your informal language after becoming a deity.” Themis peered at Anemone.

“Well, that was in the Dark Ages. I’m a grown woman now.” It was true, for Anemone was now in her early twenties.

“You still act like a child, at least with your authority,” Themis replied, “You cannot continue letting your spirits roam unrestricted.”

Anemone stared at Themis, leaning in closer. “At least my people aren’t afraid of me.”

“So? That shall leave you with no one if there is not a drop of fear in your system.” Themis locked eyes with Anemone.

Anemone glared back. “Since when were you my boss?”

“I am merely an elder advising a childish ruler on how to guide her citizens,” Themis smugly replied.

“CHILDISH?!” Anemone’s nostrils flared. “When in the name of Zeus am I childish? I'm only giving my people happiness which is never given to yours.”

“You have no idea—!”

Mother Nature interjected, “This is unlike both of you to argue over valueless ideas.”

Anemone rose an eyebrow. “Isn’t that what we typically do?”

Mother Nature persisted, ignoring Anemone, “Why have you brought this up now when we were talking about how to liberate my Winter Sovereign?” Her voice held a sharp, protective edge like a mother's.

Anemone winced. “Before arriving, we were debating on whether or not I should strengthen my power over the wind spirits.”

Mother Nature sighed. “Themis, I have already told you multiple times that you have no jurisdiction over whatever Anemone does.”

“I do when I am involved.” Themis crossed her arms.

“How are you even involved?!” Anemone shouted, “It's my duty, my land, and my kingdom!”

“Well, it is not my fault for your failure to uphold justice and law in your land,” Themis snarled.

“Would you two quit it!!” Mother Nature hollered, finally cracking.

“Lady Nature!”

“What?!” Mother Nature responded, tone icy.

She turned around and faced a frightened Peter with Yuki by his side.

“How did you…” Mother Nature looked over to Yuki's seat and back. “...get there so quickly?”

“That is beside the point,” Yuki stated.

Peter added, “Lady Nature, the other sovereigns have arrived and are waiting in the throne room as you wished.”

Mother Nature rose from her chair. “Thank you, Peter. Do you wish to attend as well Anemone and Themis?”

Both women nodded, standing up.

“Alright then, Peter and Yuki-Onna, please guide us to the meeting room.”

 

* * *

 

  
After going through countless hallways, the five of them finally reached a set of large, oaken doors that led to the Throne Room. Peter, with help from Yuki, opened the doors, revealing a stunning view.

The hexagonal room, including the doors as one wall, was divided into five sectors.

One section was a complete winter wonderland, snowdrifts used as foot rests at the ends of two differently sized ice thrones. The other section on the left side of the doors was a spring utopia, flowering vines adorning another pair of thrones, these ones made of stone.

To the right of the doors was a summer oasis, the sparkling lake sitting in front of marble thrones reflecting the two trees behind the seats. The final sector on the right side was an autumn day, two pumpkins rested underneath towering, multicolored trees, granite thrones in between.

The final area, parallel to the entrance, had a large throne and harmonized all the four seasons together. The selenite chair’s armrests swirled with vines, the left producing a rainbow of colored flowers, the right blossoming with grapes. A bright summer’s sun shone through a frost veiled window, illuminating a sense of mysticism.

Only three people occupied the room, each on the taller divans of spring, summer and autumn, the place where the Sovereigns sat.

The Spring Sovereign wore a silk, pink gown designed with a pattern of vines across her chest, earthen brown hair in a braid weaved with matching flowers.

Unlike Spring, the Summer Sovereign was clad in a full sleeved, black blouse with trails of red, orange and yellow that resembled fire at the collar line and ends, adding an effect to her solid black pants. She kept her curled, tangy red locks loose.

The male Autumn Sovereign wore a crisp, red collar shirt and brown khakis, mixing with his dark brown hair.

Yuki swiftly went to the smaller throne for winter, Mother Nature placing herself on the largest throne. Two golden seats sprouted from the ground beside Mother Nature, Anemone going to the left, leaving Themis with the right.

“Now,” Mother Nature proclaimed, “May this meeting begin!”

“Wait,” the Summer Sovereign interrupted, “Where in the world is Jack Frost?” Her golden brown eyes flickered with slight annoyance. “Is he coming late again?”

“That was uncalled for, Bedelia Doiteain!” the Spring Monarch, Erantha, scolded, “You know that he is pressured with both of his duties.”

“So?” Bedelia shrugged. “He could always quit being a Guardian. The title really isn't anything valuable.”

The Autumn Sovereign noticed Mother Nature’s twitch, so he ended the argument’s spark by saying, “Why have you called us Mother Nature?”

“Thank you Ashun,” Mother Nature began after Bedelia and Erantha turned around to face her, “I have called you all here to decide on a grave issue involving the Winter Sovereign.”

“Please do not tell us that he will be replaced!” Erantha’s eyes grew with terror.

Bedelia also joined, “Yeah, he's the only non-destructive Winter Sovereign in over a millennium.” Ashun nodded his head in agreement.

“Oh heaven's no, I have no interest in another seasonal leader.” Mother Nature chuckled softly.

“Then, what trouble did he land in again?” Ashun asked.

The small grin on Mother Nature's face fell. “Jack Frost has been kidnapped.”

“Hold on,” Bedelia rebutted, “Who and how did they kidnap Frost?”

Yuki politely responded, “Summer Sovereign, Jack and I were at his pond when Khione ambushed us. With her was also Hel.”

“You let Jack get kidnapped?”

Yuki blinked at Bedelia’s harsh tone. “Of course not, I was knocked unconscious for defending my Heikka. I suspect that nightmare sand was in use for the glass bottle full of it that I recovered from the scene.” She then unwrapped the evidence and held it up.

Ashun broke the pregnant period of silence. “I know this is very important. However, the last time Jack was kidnapped by Hel, Lady Themis and Lady Anemone had not come to help us find him. Why are they here now?”

“Good observation!” Anemone praised, “We came because the fate of the universe is possibly at stake. We cannot tell you all why right now because it's a long story, and we need a plan.”

“We truly do,” Erantha spoke, “However, I believe we should not tell our Head Seasonals about this affair. Gods know they do not care for Jack Frost as we do.”

Mother Nature crossed her long, thin fingers in her lap. “That is why I sent only you three the message. Any suggestions for how to start?”

“I have one,” Bedelia announced, “Tell the other guardians about this situation!”

“But, we are the only ones able to do anything about this,” Erantha disagreed.

Bedelia merely waved her hand in a dismissive manner. “They can still help us. Also, they are entitled to know what happened to their Guardian of Fun. I mean, wouldn't they notice sooner or later?”

“I agree that is what we should do,” Ashun said, “However, we need to create a plan before going.”

“Nope.” Bedelia winked. “We could just plan with them.”  
  
Mother Nature placed her arm on the hand rest. “Since there are no further ideas, I will follow what Bedelia has told. Agreed?”

The others gave a dignified nod.

“It is settled.” Mother Nature rose from her chair. “We shall leave immediately.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was honestly a build up chapter for my 3rd one lmao. Trust me, Chapter 3 and 4 were my favorite chapters I wrote a year or two ago, so have fun with those! 
> 
> List of OCs Mentioned So Far:
> 
> Mother Nature (GoC character with OC traits)  
> Tsar Lunar XII (GoC character with OC traits)  
> Anemone  
> Themis  
> Hel  
> Holler  
> Yuki-Onna  
> Khione (Sortaish from PJO with OC traits)  
> Bedelia Doiteain  
> Erantha Vrochì  
> Ashun L'automne


	4. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack wakes up from a nightmare, only to discover that he'll have to face a greater one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for this chapter: SKIP the nightmare if you get flashbacks triggered by VIOLENCE. It is a rather VIOLENT scene with DECAPITATION, so please skip the nightmare if you need to. I only look out for the best intentions for my readers.

(Nightmare)

_Darkness overwhelmed all my senses. I couldn't tell how long I've been in here: hours, weeks, years, I had no clue. However, when I regained control, I wish I hadn't._

_It wasn't because I was in the midst of a battle. It wasn't because of the fields covered by countless corpses, burns and frostbite decorating each dead body. It wasn't because of the trails of otherworldly fluids flowing through the land's gorges. Oh no, not at all. It was because of the decapitated body right in front of my eyes, the being's blood glistening on my katana._

_I clutched my shepherd's staff as I surveyed the damage I, no, Jokül, had inflicted upon the victim. It was nearly impossible to tell who it was with how much blood and other gorish detail clouding it, its yellow cloak only revealing that it was an important Summer Court official._

_That was when the head rolled to my feet. I knelt to take a closer look. Blond hair peeked out from the tears of the shredded hood. I slowly took off the golden mask adorning its face, already drawing suspicions on who it was. My guess was correct when I found myself staring into a pair of lifeless, golden-brown eyes that still held a spark of arrogance in them._

_I had assassinated Blaze, the Summer Sovereign._

_Hell bent on running away, I careened backward, nearly tripping over my stupid, navy-blue war cloak. The swooshing sound from steadying myself in the North Wind's grasp caught the attention of another Summer Court member across from me. Her cloak hood fell, revealing vivid locks of viscous red._

_Magma red locked with ice blue. Rage vs depression. Her eyes flared once she realized who I was. "Attack the Winter Sovereign! He has killed our king and shall pay for his murder!"_

_I stood there, frozen, unable to move a single muscle. Suddenly, the background blurred, contrasting with the sharp images of the mob of pursuers._

_Everything started spinning until Yuki Onna landed right in between and summoned an ice dome to protect us._ _  
_

_"It will not last long without your permafrost abilities," Yuki stated, shaking her head._

_I was still petrified. The booming crack of ice woke me from my trance. I shot a bolt of frost at the hole in our dome. It was futile, for more cracks appeared as the attacks progressed. I tried to repair our only defense with the best of my ability, but it wasn't enough._

_"Yu-Yuki, I-I can't hold it much longer." My voice trembled with fear._

_Yuki comforted me, "It is alright, Jack-sama. Just know that if you are to be in danger, I will shield you."_

_I gulped. "No Yuki, it's my fault we got into this mess."_

_"Ja—"_

_"I was the one who completely released Jokül. I deserve the blame." I sighed, trying to think about what to do next._

_More summer spirits rammed into the dome, shouting incoherent threats against me and those who defended me. That's it; they only want me! So, I opened the dome and stepped out. Immediately, pure permafrost sealed the ice, preventing Yuki from helping me._ _  
_

_I had to do this. Alone._

_I spread out my arms, managing not to disturb the tightly tied hood shielding my identity. "You want a piece of me?" I strapped my staff to my back and unsheathed my other katana, preparing into a battle stance. "Well, you're going to have to fight for it."_

_I ran into the crowd, slicing away. All was a blur as tears of sorrow welled in my eyes. That was the only bliss: not looking at the massacre I caused with the powers of winter and swordsmanship. Instinct took a hold of me._

_I had no idea what went on until I heard a shout. "Ou-sama!" Yuki yelled as she pounded against the permafrost dome._

_I looked back for a quick second. A second of vulnerability. The woman who first witnessed me, Natalie, or so declared by Summer's army, took the chance and trapped me in a headlock. A dagger was placed along my jugular vein._

_"Hmm, it'd be such a pity to just end you right now and not make you suffer for your crime," the woman drawled as she summoned a flame into her hand. The other hand pulled my hair to tearing point. "Sadly, you cannot pay by blood; alas, I can improvise."_ __  
__  
_She shoved her fiery hand under my heavy cloak, onto my bare stomach. Searing pain traveled from the area as if the hand was a branding iron. The agony increased when the sadist sent more flames to engulf me. Soon, others joined in._ __  
__  
_I couldn't take it anymore._ __  
  
I screamed; I thrashed as more hot hands from the crowd groped at me, trying to burn me to death. I veiled myself in a thick layer of frost that didn't last long. I didn't have enough concentration nor strength to form any permafrost, which would surely have come in handy.

 _When they got tired of their twisted fun, somebody hurled me forward, skidding me towards Yuki's ice dome. Summer elementals fired more heat at the dome, enough for the ice to crumble. I screeched as others held a lax Yuki-Onna up and pulled off her hood. Once again, I was held up by a powerful immortal._ __  
__  
_"Ah, so you are Winter's Head Seasonal?" Natalie strutted to the front. She glanced back at me mockingly, knowing fully well that I couldn't do anything. The Summer spirits had officially imprisoned me. "I wonder, how much terror will our murderer feel if I did this?"_ __  
__  
_In a flash of silver, Natalie drove her dagger right into Yuki's abdomen. Yuki kept a neutral face. The torturer, furious, drew out the dagger. It plunged once again into Yuki's waist, more blood staining her ice blue cloak. The dagger agonizingly swept across her body, Yuki's screams echoing through the area. When I heard her first wail, I couldn't stand it any longer._ __  
__  
_I jabbed my elbow into the male who held me. He instantly dropped me, clutching his bruised stomach. Once again, everything blended together, but I still was able to throw my katana right where I believed that fiend's stomach was. My heart shattered when I realized who I'd actually hit._ __  
__  
_Yuki blinked sluggishly as she stared at my weapon in her chest. Ruby red blood spilled around her. She promptly fell to her knees._ __  
__  
_"Ou—Ou-sama, how could you?" Yuki murmured disbelievingly._ __  
__  
_I sprinted forwards, slashing through everything in my way. I quickly knelt by my fallen general, weeping loudly._ __  
__  
_"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry, Yuki-dono!" I hiccuped. Yuki gently placed a hand on my left shoulder._ __  
__  
_Instead of the dying whisper I expected, what came out was a strong voice shouting:_ __  
_  
_ **_"Jack, wake up!"_ **

 

* * *

 

 (Hel’s Catacombs)

The harsh clank of shackles resonated throughout the room as Jack jolted himself awake. His eyes instantly landed on the restraints. Jack summoned his frost to at least freeze the iron but to no prevail. He couldn't even call up a bit of his power, as if it was stuck within him. Giving up, Jack looked around the cell.  
  
Right in Jack's line of vision were two goddesses, bound in the same rusted chains as him. By appearance itself, it was clear that both of them were two sides of the same coin.  
  
The closest deity to Jack studied him with her dark brown eyes. Her tattered, purple dress shone with golden ichor as it tried to veil wilted, bruised skin to the best of its ability. A feather charm was attached to the deity's golden necklace, radiating a dubious amount of power. The shocking part was her youthful appearance, looking not a day over fifteen.  
  
The other deity next to her was sound asleep, as proven by her bowed head. The female's black hair surrounded her waist in a halo. Unlike her companion, the deity's white lace blouse and black tights showed off most of her curves and were far less tattered. In fact, she didn't even look half as beaten up, even though she was far older.  
  
"Nefra? Ciara?" Jack questioned after finally finding his tongue.  
  
The only awake goddess, Nefra, cheered, "Thank goodness you didn't call us Ma'at and Adrestia! I swear, it infuriates me so much when people do that!"  
  
"I know." Jack snorted. "You told me that so many times."  
  
"Hey, what can I say? You hate your position too so," Nefra countered, jerking her unbound head to Jack's chest. This bit of movement caused the girl's hair to ruffle. Nefra groaned as she tried to tame it, inevitably creating a worse mess. After all, with her hands bound, Nefra couldn't really do much.  
  
Jack smiled when Nefra rubbed her head against the wall, making her hair even more tangled. "Alright, I can see that."  
  
"Finally!" Nefra grinned as her locks, at last, smoothed out. Jack shook his head in amusement.  
  
Jack glanced around once more, noticing something rustling in the shadows. "Hey, who's over there?"  
  
"Him?" Nefra gestured her head to the male immortal curled up at the shadiest corner of the dimly lit cell. His black robe concealed most of his pale skin. What wasn't clothed was covered by chains made of some sort of black, or blackened, material. "Isn't it obvious?"  
  
"No, not really," Jack replied as he tried to identify the man.

Nefra laughed, surprising the hell out of Jack. "You really don't know?"  
  
Jack shook his head.  
  
"It's Pitch; the guy you defeated two years ago?" Nefra stated.  
  
"WHAT?!" Jack's voice echoed, waking up Ciara from her slumbering.  
  
"Ugh, can't you keep it down, Nefra?" Ciara, also known as Adrestia, glared at Nefra.  
  
Nefra blinked, staring into Ciara's blue orbs. "Woah, what? It wasn't me who yelled! It was Jack!"  
  
"I was awake ever since you woke up Jack." Ciara yawned. "You two need to tone it down a notch. Seriously, some of us are trying to sleep away our pain."  
  
Nefra quirked an eyebrow, flicking a thread of her golden blood at Ciara. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm in a way worse position than you are. If I get any more of those fearlings injected within me, I'll disintegrate."  
  
Ciara rolled her eyes. "That's why I offered you the chance to sleep and regain some lost power. Instead, you handed it to me."  
  
"She would die!" "I would die!" Jack and Nefra exclaimed at the same time.  
  
Nefra added, "Just because darkness doesn't affect you nor Pitch doesn't mean it's neutral for us!"  
  
Once Pitch was mentioned again, Jack glanced at the beaten down figure. "Are you absolutely positive that is Pitch? He looks awful."  
  
"We all look bad," Ciara retorted, "Though I admit, I'm much better off than those two."  
  
The near silent clatter of chains was the only indication that Pitch uncurled himself.  
  
"Only since Ma'at and I are Hel's current targets," Pitch remarked as he unwove the knots that shortened his limits. "Although, I assume Frost will be next."  
  
"What if I'm just here because she's going after me later?" Jack countered, "Like Ciara."  
  
Pitch crossed his arms, if it could even be called that. "Oh, believe me when I say that you will be her top priority."  
  
Jack huffed. "If you know that, can you tell me why I'm here?"  
  
"Hmm." Pitch pursed his thin, black lips. "There is not much I can tell."  
  
Jack glared at Pitch. "Then how can you say that I'm going to be her top priority?"  
  
"I know from the snippets I have heard. So far, it seems as if Hel believes you are part of some prophecy."  
  
Nefra interrupted, "Wait, by any chance, does this prophecy have anything to do with Holler and the chosen one's blood?"  
  
"Yes," Pitch answered, "Hel is trying to gain information from me about my daughter's offsprings, which I have no idea about."  
  
"What prophecy?" Jack questioned.  
  
Nefra replied, "When Manny and Mother Nature imprisoned Holler in this tomb to delay the universe's end, it's said that Themis uttered a prophecy about how to release him."  
  
Jack gulped. "Am I actually involved in this like Hel believes?"  
  
"I dunno." Nefra shrugged her shoulders. "The only fact about the prophecy is that there is a chosen one whose blood is powerful enough to raise Holler from his tomb."  
  
"Why is she only going about this now?" Ciara scoffed.  
  
After a few beats, Nefra's eyes suddenly filled with terror.  
  
"Are you alright?" Jack asked.  
  
"Yeah, yeah." What Nefra said didn't reassure Jack the slightest; he looked at Nefra with a disbelieving face.  
  
"Fine." Nefra huffed. "I just realized it's possible that Hel uncovered Holler's tomb."  
  
"How so?" Pitch inquired.  
  
"For starters, Hel is looking for their offspring. Most of the time, the children of whoever evoked the prophecy, in this case, Man in Moon's and Mother Nature's kids, are the ones who are chosen for this kind of thing," Nefra explained, her gaze lingering on Jack when she finished.  
  
Jack stared back. "What?"  
  
Nefra was going to respond when an ear-splitting scream echoed throughout the cell.  
  
"What was that?!" Jack yelled, ears still ringing from the sound.  
  
Nefra winced. "That is the screeching of those who are victims of the Dark Lord's anger."  
  
"Dark Lord?" Jack rose an eyebrow.  
  
Ciara glared at Jack. "Yeah, this god who teamed up with Hel."  
  
"Are you kidding me? First Khione, now this sadistic guy?"  
  
Pitch commented, "By how close that was to here, I'd say that the Dark Lord is coming."  
  
More tortured howls erupted from outside of the trapdoor.  
  
"That doesn't sound so good." Jack peered at the wooden door above them. "Are you actually positive that I'm up next?"  
  
"Pitch is, I'm not," Nefra started off, "There's a chance he's after any of us. The Dark Lord is really unpredictable, and a force not to reckon with."  
  
"And he's angry at the gods. Like, super pissed," Ciara added, "So, he might just pick us again."  
  
Suddenly, their conversation was silenced by the click of a door unlocking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember to comment I guess? Idk, still pissed at this site's formatting. I will NEVER get used to this UGH!
> 
> List of OCs Mentioned So Far
> 
> Mother Nature (GoC character with OC traits)  
> Tsar Lunar XII (GoC character with OC traits)  
> Anemone  
> Themis  
> Hel  
> Holler  
> Yuki-Onna  
> Khione (Sortaish from PJO with OC traits)  
> Bedelia Doiteain  
> Erantha Vrochì  
> Ashun L'automne  
> Nefra/Ma'at  
> Ciara/Adrestia


	5. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lost and confused, Jack is terrified beyond his wit. Unlucky for him, the worst has just begun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I'm an idiot for forgetting this existed smh. Btw, heads up:
> 
> THERE IS BLOODLESS TORTURE IN THIS CHAPTER!
> 
> If you want to skip it, then don't read the second section.

(Hel's Catacombs)

The four were silent as they waited for the Dark Lord's head to pop up. Nothing was detected except for the thump of a door closing and shackles clanking along obsidian. He had targeted the cell next to theirs.   


Nefra sighed. "Looks like we're safe."   


"For now," Ciara warned, "Anyone can come down here any moment."   


As if on cue, the door above them banged open.

"Great going, Ciara," Jack huffed.

Descending down the nearly invisible steps carved within the walls was none other than Hel. Her red dress was still on, darker splotches of blood staining it. The malice filled smile proved that she didn't care at all about the liquid.   


"How has your stay been, Frost?" Hel questioned, towering over the winter spirit.   


Jack nonchalantly stared into the goddess's red eyes. He kept quiet.   


Hel hummed, "Now, what happened to the talkative Jack Frost?"   


Instead of verbally answering her, Jack's foot lashed out at Hel's knee, missing by a few millimeters.   


The goddess growled, roughly kicking him down. A crack echoed throughout the room as Jack landed on the floor, blue hoodie billowing around his head. Nefra tried to yell a retort; Ciara shushed her.   


Jack grimaced, still not replying. In an instant, Hel's black soled foot pressed down on Jack's bare stomach.   


The pressure wasn't awful until Hel shifted into a more tortuous position. A sudden jolt of pain caused Jack to yelp. Hel grinned as she applied more force.   


"I said, how has your stay been, Frost."   


Jack glared at the foot planted on him. "Just peachy."   


"Good." Hel removed her boot from Jack's stomach, leaving a dirty shoe print on the spot. "Lucky for you, our fun is not over yet."   


The goddess grabbed a handful of Jack's soot filled hair and hauled him into a standing position. She took out a rusted ring of keys from a hidden pocket in her cape and inserted it into a keyhole within the wall. With a click, the chains holding Jack to the floor fell away. Nevertheless, he still had the ankle restraints, and his hands were still shackled.   


Hel roped a shadow strand onto both chains. "I hope you shall enjoy the stay. I have upgraded most of the catacombs after your last…visit."   


Jack bit his lip.  _ That doesn't sound so good. _

As Hel dragged the teen away, Jack couldn't help worrying about what the goddess had in store for him.

 

* * *

 

 

All he got was this: it was dark, it was cold and he was scared.   


Jack couldn't see anything but darkness as his blindfold blocked nearly all light. Jack couldn't feel anything but the cold radiating from the table he was strapped onto. Thus, Jack couldn't help but let fear gather within him.   


He wished so much to escape. However, thanks to the iron infused leather bands binding him to the table, he couldn't summon a single drop of his power. To make it all the more miserable, Jack was stripped of his hoodie, compelling his mind to focus on his sense of touch. It didn't help that the iron's influence also left him as vulnerable as a newborn baby.   


Just when the burn of the Stygian Iron head clamp became unbearable, the soft groan of a chair alerted him that Hel arrived with her 'provisions'.   


Jack froze when he heard the splash of water inside a bucket.   


"I see Pitch was not lying about your new fear," Hel sneered, "the fear of drowning."   


"Can it, Death."   


A wet hand ran through his hair. "Why should I when it provokes you so entertainingly?"   


Jack swore that something, a rag maybe, dropped into the liquid.   


"Although, I am quite curious as to how you obtained such an apprehensiveness over something so little," Hel drawled as fat beads of cold water landed on Jack's bare stomach, eliciting a shiver from each drop, "After all, you can simply freeze it."   


Hel chuckled breathlessly. "Wait, you can't now."   


"Just cut to the chase and tell me what you want," Jack said, voice flat of any emotion.

"Simple. I want to know why you are afraid."   


Jack scoffed, "I'm not scared of water, so you're out of luck."   


"Are you positive?" A damp, coarse cloth was shoved into Jack's mouth. "I would love to attest that."   


Even though Jack was prepared, the spray of water hit him like a ramming bull.   


Water instantly seeped into his mouth, forcing him to gag on the rag. Jack tried to shout; however, it was all drowned out by the rushing stream.   


A wet sensation crawled down his chest— stomach— legs, slowly submerging him in the fluid. The shadows, woven into the cloth above his eyes, gradually strengthened even more until he could only see pure black.   


The sudden crack of ice, Emma's shrill shriek as he plummeted; it all reverted inside his head. Cold, darkness, the feel of water filling deprived lungs, was all that he could decipher.   


Soon, all his strength left him. Jack stopped screaming, stopped crying, stopped jerking, stopped breathing.   


Still, he was alive.   


_ I'm not even breathing, so how am I alive? I should be dead by now! _ _  
_

A sudden sliver of dread sliced through Jack's resolve when he realized something.   


He was stuck in this nightmare for eternity—but there was no moon to save him this time.   


As if finally noticing Jack's resilience fading, the stream of water cleared away. The cloth suffocating him was removed.   


Oh how luxurious the air felt in his lungs. Jack greedily took in large breaths, only to cough up water. The liquid dribbled down his chin, yet Jack still attempted to reawaken his organs.   


Once Hel believed that he was able to speak, she asked, "Mind explaining why you reacted as such when you said yourself that you were not 'scared of water'?"   


"Fine, I guess I do have a fear of drowning," Jack replied nonchalantly, nearly concealing his inner emotions, "But what does this have to do with anything?"   


"I am just curious."   


"What if I said that I have no idea why?"  _ Shut up Jack, shut up Jack, shut up Jack. _ _  
_

Hel hummed. "Well then, I suppose that I have no choice but to continue."   


The saturated cloth was once again stuffed into his mouth.   


Jack waited for the onslaught of terror to occur again. When she hadn't begun yet, he was confused.   


Hel called, "Acheron, fill up this bucket and another. Make sure to heat one up this time!"   


_ 'Heated water? What's she going to do with me?' _ Jack panicked.  _ 'Why can't Jokül or Nightlight be here right now?' _ _  
_

Jack noticed that the table started tilting to where his feet were more elevated than his head.   


Finishing up the adjustment, Hel waited impatiently for the servant to arrive, indicated by the rhythmic tapping of fingernails against metal.   


At last, the filled container came, splashing some excess water onto the floor. Hel yelled at the servant, "What took you so long?!"   


"I-I-I'm s-sorry, your Majesty. S-Sa-Sabrina asked me to as-s-sist her with a p-p-pa-patient," a young male voice shakily replied.   


"Is Sabrina your master now?" Hel continued when the male whimpered, "Give me an answer, servant!"   


"N-n-no! Y-y-you are my master!"   


"Good," Hel said, "Now scram. As you can see, I have to deal with another pest."   


Hurried footsteps were the only response from the poor servant as he complied to his master's orders.   


"You have one last chance, Frost," Hel warned as she removed the gag, "Tell me now and you will be spared."   


Jack managed to shake his head, albeit a little, yet the fractional movement was enough for Hel. With an annoyed huff, the goddess picked up the bucket.   


Jack felt the heat from the steam before the burning water touched his delicate skin.   


He couldn't help but scream as the liquid flooded him. That was his mistake as the boiling water attacked his mouth, scorching his insides. Jack squirmed in his restraints to avoid the penetrating heat in vain.   


Sizzling skin and tortured yells were the only things that hit Jack's ears.   


Hysterical sobs racked through Jack's being, cries he never heard in his tormenting world.   


The worst part was when the fire was replaced with ice.   


His pain-filled shriek echoed throughout the catacombs as the sudden ambush of cold soaked into every pore of his body.   


The cold he was so familiar with, yet wasn't. This was not the soft chill that embraced him whenever there was a light snowfall. Oh no, this was a sharp chill that terrorized people with fear.   


The agony finally cracked his resilience.   


"YOU WIN!" Jack forced out in between his screeches, "PLEASE JUST STOP!"   


The torrent of cold immediately paused. "Are you ready to answer me now?"

Despite the head clamp, Jack vigorously nodded his head. "Yes, yes, yes! Please, no more!"   


Hel triumphantly laughed as she set down the container in her hands. "At last. Why is it that you are afraid of drowning?"   


_ Don't tell her! Don't tell her! _ Jack remained silent, angering the once amused goddess.   


"Talk now or you'll be doused again. This time, even worse."   


"No, please!"  _ Stop! Stop! Stop! Don't do it! _ "I give up!"

Hel fingered his hair. "Well then? My patience is waning."   


"I drowned before," Jack whispered, "In my human life, I drowned to…"   


The teen wasn't able to finish his sentence as he was harshly thrown into the throes of unconscious.   


 

* * *

 

 

Nefra couldn't handle the gurgling, horror-filled wails anymore.

She failed into saving her Jack. The teen merely years older than her, physically at least, who teased her at the Seasonal meetings. The Sovereign that always danced his night away at the Solstice and Equinox balls.   


Nefra let herself be swept away by the flood of memories sparking in her head. Anything was better than to hear her friend cry and know that she wasn't able to stop it.   


She thought about how Ciara constantly taunting her about the budding friendship between her and Jack Frost.   


Nefra remembered the times when she was locked inside the Seasonal Meeting Room with Jack all because Bedelia and Ciara repeatedly betted on what they would do. Ashun or Erantha would always rescue them in the end, screaming their lungs off at the other two immature leaders.   


Oh, the thrill she felt when Jack took her to the Oak of Sorrows and introduced her to the Nods. The assurance she felt when Jack came to her, to  _ her _ , for emotional help after the Winter and Summer War of 1934. The joy she felt when Jack chased her around Mother Nature's gardens, the wind whipping her hair.   


All that happiness quashed by Hel.   


Jack may have survived two decades within these catacombs, but Hel had updated her torture methods since then.   


In fact, it was a wonder that Jack was even sane after being tortured for years, the battle between him and Blaze, and the constant stream of hatred that was spewed out at him every day. The Oak of Sorrows can only absorb so much sadness, and he was as grief-filled as they can get.   


Nefra hoped that his mental strength could hold just a tad more. However, that bit of optimism was soon vaporized when she heard Jack scream: "You win! Please just stop!".   


"Jack," Nefra murmured.   


Ciara rustled once again as she tried to sleep. "Can't they be more quiet?" The woman rubbed her eyes sleepily.   


"Be more quiet?!  _ BE MORE QUIET _ ?!" Nefra fumed, "He is damn being  _ TORTURED _ right now while you're peacefully sitting on you heinie acting like an  _ ASS _ , and you want Jack to shut up?!! He dang can't!"   


Ciara blinked in surprise. "Okay, sheesh, I'm sorry. My sleepiness just clouded rational thought, is all."   


"Oh." Nefra breathed in a large gulp of air. "Sorry Ciara. Guess hearing Jack really put me in—"   


The girl paused when an unconscious, white haired teen was dumped unceremoniously into the cell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mehhhhh, I'm too lazy, but I'll still post the OC list. Also, well I forgot to post this last chapter too apparently xD
> 
> List of OCs Mentioned So Far:
> 
> Mother Nature (GoC character with OC traits)  
> Tsar Lunar XII (GoC character with OC traits)  
> Anemone  
> Themis  
> Hel  
> Holler  
> Yuki-Onna  
> Khione (Sortaish from PJO with OC traits)  
> Bedelia Doiteain  
> Erantha Vrochì  
> Ashun L'automne  
> Nefra/Ma'at  
> Ciara/Adrestia


	6. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The time comes for the Guardians to know the truth, or at least a part of it. The thing is, will it ensure more chaos or a helping hand to get Hel's captives rescued?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All I know is that I SERIOUSLY need to post all my prewritten chapters this week. I don't understand why I keep forgetting. Anyway, don't freak out if a ton of chapters are posted xD

(North Pole)

 

North, as usual, was having a very  _busy_  day.

Sure, there were still nine more months till Christmas, but it takes time to master perfection. He had to tweak errors in toys, make sure electronics didn't explode, craft new designs and much more that an ordinary person wouldn't realize the importance of: eating cookies, playing with toys, those kind of things.

Thus, it made sense for him to be a tad grumpy when a yeti, out of the blue, rushed into his office like there's no tomorrow.

North raised his hands in the air in frustration, one holding a hammer another an icepick. "What is it this time, Phil!"

"Arg ga brdre moht ntre," the yeti responded.

"What?" North dropped his tools on his work desk. "Mother Nature is at Pole?"

Phil nodded and started walking away.

"Wait, you never say which room she is in!"

Phil paused mid step and turned around, gesturing North to follow him. The burly man brushed ice off the sleeves of his red sweater and ran up to catch up with the yeti.

Once the two reached one of the many sitting rooms at the Pole, North's escort walked away.

Inside, red plush chairs were in an unclosed semicircle, a table set up in the middle. The seats were close enough to the fire to feel a bit of its warmth but not enough to make a winter spirit uncomfortable; North had to rearrange it that way for the special addition to the team.

However, sitting in those chairs currently were not the Guardians. Oh no, North was met with a curt, formal atmosphere instead of the familial one he was used to.

Eh, at least he didn't have to defrost a rabbit like last time.

The members within the room immediately rose, Mother Nature ever being the graceful woman she was.

Curtsying, the goddess tilted her head in greeting. "Nicholas St. North, it is a pleasure to be in your abode."

"Is fine!" North waved his hands. "Sit, sit! I ask elves to bring refreshments, da?"

"Thank you."

With that, North's guests all sat down in a flourish, leaving the burly man a center chair close to the fireplace.

An auburn brown haired male bowed his head respectively. "I believe we haven't met?"

North smiled. "Yes, but is alright."

The male continued, "I understand, but I should at least offer my colleagues and my name. I am Ashun L'automne, the Sovereign of Autumn."

He gestured to the Japanese woman sitting farthest away from the heat, "She is Yuki-Onna, the Head Seasonal of Winter," then to the well dressed lady next to Yuki, "Her name is Erantha Vrochì, the Sovereign of Spring," and to the redhead at the back, "Finally, this is Bedelia Doiteain, the Sovereign for Summer."

"Nice to know who are guests, yes?" North's loud voice boomed, "What brings you to the Pole?"

"Jack's gone missing," Bedelia blurted out nonchalantly, crossing her arms, "Not in a good way either."

"What?!"

Erantha sighed. "What my  _friend_  is trying to say is that Jackson Overland Frost has been kidnapped and we wanted to work with the Guardians to bring him back."

North blinked for a full minute, a minute full of awkward silence, before he responded, "I see. I call other Guardians; do you want to wait in Globe Room?"

"Sure." Bedelia shrugged her shoulders.

Mother Nature glanced at her Sovereign, North noticing the spark of withering anger in the look. "We would love to."

 

* * *

 

To say the Globe Room is incredible was an understatement.

It was simply stunning: floorboards shined to perfection, massive, ornate pillars holding the balcony aloft, the giant globe full of twinkling lights.

Still, the Seasonal Court didn't even give a passing glance at the beauty.

Even though he shouldn't be offended by something so little, North was deeply hurt. Everyone loved the Globe Room and always cooed when first seeing it, including Bunny!

"Niiiiiice."

Maybe somebody did give a glance.

North turned to a Bedelia Doiteain that was running her hands around a table fixed near the controls of the Pole.

"Somewhere to sit!"

The Sovereign plopped onto the table, leaning back with her hands gripping the edge to keep her upright.

Guess these people were harder to impress than North thought.

Erantha asked, "How do you call the other Guardians?"

"The Northern lights of course!"

Bedelia looked at the Russian. "Wait, you  _actually_  manipulate the Aurora Borealis?" With North's joyous nod, she muttered, "That explains why some of my sprites get lost."

North mentally groaned. Do these people just ignore blunt beauty or something?

"How do you do so?" Ashun peered at the control board and was slightly confused by all the buttons.

North grinned as he pushed down the crystal lever, activating the lights. "Simple!"

A wave of multicolored light shot up from the globe and traveled through the skies.

Bedelia stared at the Aurora Borealis in awe. "I admit, that is  _COOL!_  No wonder Frosty loves this place."

Ashun hummed in agreement, Erantha rolled her eyes, but Mother Nature stayed silent.

It took only a few minutes for North's friends to see the calling.

Zipping down from the window was none other than Tooth, green, blue and gold feathers gleaming in the sunlight. Soon, an airplane made of shimmering sand flew around the globe, landing down next to them. Immediately after that, Bunny came in with two yetis, the gray furred, humanoid rabbit shivering in the cold.

Bunny glared at the Cossack, furry arms crossed together in frustration. "Why'd ya call us…" He trailed off once he noticed that Mother Nature was in the room, "Emily Jane, a pleasure to see ya again!"

The ever so short Sandy left his airplane and drifted to her, waving his greeting.

Mother Nature smiled sweetly. "Hello old friend, it has been quite a while. Toothiana, nice to meet you again, busy as always I see?"

"It's an honor to see you again," Tooth absently replied in the middle of directing her fairies, "San Diego Sector 12, 2 premolars, 5 canines and 12 incisors. Yeah, there's always night somewhere. Right, Sandy?"

Sandy nodded his head in agreement. He faced his long time companion and rapidly flashed symbols that only she could decipher.

"Yes Sandman, this is my court. Oh Guardians, you never saw the Seasonal Court!"

"It's fine, Emily," Bunny said.

"No, it is not alright Bunnymund. Introductions are in order." Mother Nature waved her hand to her court. "Meet Bedelia Doiteain, the Summer Sovereign, Erantha, the Spring Sovereign, Ashun L'automne, the Autumn Sovereign, and Yuki-Onna, the Head Seasonal of Winter. My Seasonals, these are the Guardians: Nicholas St. North, Toothiana, Sanderson Mansnoozie, and E. Aster Bunnymund respectively."

The five, once again, bowed in greeting.

Bunny groaned softly, still disturbing the polite atmosphere. "North, ya know where Frostbite is?"

"Frostbite, classic." Bedelia snickered at the nickname.

North, on the other hand, looked gravely at his friend. "That is why the Seasonal Court is here."

"Did Jack do somethin'?" Bunny asked Mother Nature.

The woman shook her head. "If only that were to be the case. He has been reported to be kidnapped by Hel and Khione or said so by Yuki-Onna."

The others' reactions were expected: Tooth gasped, Bunny's eyes widened and Sand made images of snowflakes, question marks, etc. above his head.

"Kidnapped?" Bunny's ears flopped down. "Whadda mean?"

Bedelia scoffed. "There's only one definition of kidnapped, Rabbit."

Tooth stared at Mother Nature, amethyst eyes full of worry. "Who are Hel and Khione?"

The woman gulped as she clasped her hands together, locking her gaze with the Tooth Fairy. "Hel is the Norse Goddess of Death, Ruler of Helheim, and she adapted some… violent tactics to achieve whatever she desires. Khione is the Greek Goddess of Snow, one of the members of Jack's court."

If the guardians weren't already anxious enough, Mother Nature's statement had them skyrocketing with anxiety.

Bunny paused his pacing when he realized what Emily Jane mentioned. "Wait, Jack's court?"

"Um yeah, he never told you?" Bedelia laughed at the Guardians' confusion. "Oh wow, typical Frost."

"Bedelia, you are belittling our generous hosts," Erantha scolded the other leader.

Ashun looked over the two before apologizing, "I am quite sorry for my fellow Sovereigns' rude behavior."

Sandy shrugged and shaped a question mark above his head with a snowflake and a crown.

"Oh yes, if you're to help us find him, you must know his identity of course. It's such a pity that he hasn't told you yet, hmm."

"Tell us what, Ashun?" North cocked his head. He had to know what Jack was hiding from them and why.

Mother Nature spoke for the gentleman, "Jack Frost is the Sovereign of Winter."

What? Jack was snowballs and fun times, not hard work and deadlines. He even said so himself!

"Wha? Did I hear ya wrong, Emily Jane?"

Bedelia rose an eyebrow. "It's not that surprising. I mean, he obviously is a winter spirit, and a powerful one at that."

"My concern is that why did he not tell you yet. Has it not been two years since he joined your ranks?" Erantha voiced out.

Tooth peered down when she noticed Sandy tugging on one of her feathers. "Yeah, Sandy?"

The short man created an image of a calendar flipping pages and a snowflake with a crown above it.

"Jack's been one for a long time?"

Sandy shook his head. A clock replaced the calendar and two people talking were next to the snowflake.

"Jack told you about it before?"

A vigorous nod answered her. The others, who were looking at the conversation, were startled.

Bunny was the first to ask, "When did frostbite tell ya?"

Sandy signed,  _"274 years ago."_

"What?! Why do you not say till now?" North questioned.

A pair of lips with an x sign.  _"He told me not to."_

"Why?" Bedelia demanded.

Sandy shrugged.  _"I don't know."_

Yuki replied, startling the Guardians that completely forgot about her, "Ou-sama told me that he believed you would treat him differently and not accept him."

"Who's Ou-sama?" Tooth asked.

"Ou-sama is the honorific I gave to Jack. It is used to address a king or any other male leader."

The four digested the explanation until Bunny froze.

"That makes no sense!" the Pooka exclaimed, "Why'd we do somethin' like that?"

"Have you not heard about all the acts Ou-sama has done? How rumors have him as a vile, violent spirit?" Yuki deadpanned when all she got was silence. "How he slayed over half of Blaze's army in the Summer and Winter War of 1934, and inevitable slaughtered the Sovereign of Summer in the final battle?"

"Our Sweet Tooth did that?" Tooth whispered.

"It is only a bit of what he has done."

The Guardians glanced at each other, speechless.

"See? This was what he was afraid of even if he deserves his Guardianship. No matter everything he has done, has gone through, Ou-sama is still a kind-hearted, naive and innocent spirit who desperately needs someone to care for him. I can only do so much, for I am too emotionless to properly give him the family that he dreams of. Do not dare remove his title because of what he was forced to do, or else you will have to face me."

Bunny held his hands in a surrender position. "Alright, we won't bother Frostbite."

"Good," Yuki hissed, "Now, we need to plan on how to get Ou-sama back."

"Then why'd ya come ta us?"

Bedelia rolled her eyes. "We, or at least I, thought that you could help us find him. Like, don't you have a tracking device on him or something just in case he goes missing?"

"No," North said glumly, "I offered but he refused to wear it."

"Of course." Erantha sighed. "Yuki-Onna told me that would be the case on the journey here. He was given a tracker made by one of the Generals in the 1900s; however, he later froze it and Yuki-Onna found the destroyed device on his bed."

Bedelia snorted along with Bunny, Jack's top two rivals expecting the winter spirit to do something like that.

North proclaimed, "What we do now? Anyone have leads on where to find Hel?"

"Oh no." Mother Nature shook her head. "Helheim is sealed away from most of the Spirit World. The only way for a spirit to reach it is by the sparse portals around the world. Even then, only a Death spirit or one with Hel's permission may enter."

"Still, didn't Yuki get in Helheim the last time Jack was kidnapped by her?" Bedelia commented.

"Yes, but it was only because Sabrina let me in the catacombs."

Bunny ruffled his fur. "So, what can we do now?"

"Nothing, I suppose." Yuki bit her lip. "Though, we could always try to find one of the portals…"

"Why not go to the one you used last time?"

That was the exact same question North had.

Yuki sighed. "Because Toothiana, most of the portals change locations. There are some permanent ones; however, they are heavily camouflaged. Last time, I went through one in Norway, and it transferred to another location."

"We must think of the positive."

"Like what North?" Bedelia huffed, "Jack is kidnapped by a sadist, who's known to break people with the cruelest torture methods, and a member of his court, that has an abnormally large infatuation with him, plus we have no leads as to how to get him back! So, I can't see anything positive here!"

"That may be true, Shelia, but don't lose hope on findin' him."

"I'm not giving up, I was stating the obvious! If I had, then why'd I say to come here?"

"Ta meh, it looked like ya lost hope! Especially with yer rant!"

"I wasn't ranting, I was stating the obvious!"

"Of course ya were. Tell meh, does a sadist and traitor sound bloody good to ya?!"

"No, but I was trying to show North the real gravity of the problem!"

"Well, wouldn't ya lose hope if ya thought like that?!"

"No, cuz hope and optimism aren't the same thing!"

"They are tha same!""

"No, it isn't!"

"Yeah, it is!"

"No!"

"Yeah!"

"ENOUGH!" Mother Nature's yell boomed throughout the Pole, stunning all the elves and yetis as a snowstorm pounded the windows.

They just unleashed Mother Nature's infamous temper.

North was the first one to recover, saying, "Is there ideal climate for portal?"

"Not that we know of," Ashun replied while calming down his queen.

Bedelia coughed to get everyone's attention. "How about dark, creepy and paranormal?"

"Why that, Shelia?"

"Well Rabbit, we're talking about a death goddess. All death spirits live in spooky homes. Why not the portals be the same?"

Yuki nodded, responding calmly. "The area I had gone through was a dead field full of decaying corpses. Very foreboding."

_'How can she talk so nonchalantly about death?'_  North thought as he stared at her, ' _Then again, is Yuki-Onna specialty.'_

"Okay, yikes," Bedelia prompted, "So, does anyone know of any  _permanent_  skin-crawling places? And no, not Jack-O Lantern's Cavern."

There goes North's idea.

After a minute of silence, Sandy flashed a golden image of a hole under a bed.

"Pitch Black's lair!" Tooth blurted out.

North pursed his lips. "Jack said lair is at Burgess."

"Ou-sama mentioned that we were fighting on Pitch Black's territory," Yuki added.

"WHAT?!" Everyone in the room, except for Yuki, screamed, forcing Yuki to cover her ears.

"How'd ya two end up at tha bloke's lair!"

"Lured." Yuki returned the Pooka's heated stare.

"May you please explain the procedure as to how you were lured?"

The Head Seasonal turned her attention to the Spring Monarch, Yuki's annoyed expression immediately dropping.

"Of course. A snow squall was brewing around the area Ou-sama and I were conversing. He failed to disperse the storm, and when he detected the energy as another's, he grew suspicious. That was when an ice trail appeared. Ou-sama skated along it with me in tow, and it stopped at the bed."

Erantha sighed. "Jack was always very careless. Now, he is paying for that trait."

"Yes, he is," Yuki agreed solemnly, "Let us hope that Hel will not ruin that characteristic."

North wondered what could make the court scared of this 'Hel' person. However, it was Bunny who voiced the question out.

"Wha's so bad about tha goddess?"

Yuki closed her eyes in sadness, letting out a breath. North was surprised to see tears rolling down the immortal being's cheeks, the fat drops freezing at her chin.

"The l-last time Ou-sama was taken, he—he never recovered from it yet," Yuki muttered hoarsely, eyes going out of focus, "I remember how terrifying he looked when I saved him…every last pore of his skin covered by burns, welts or soot. To think Hel's methods have gotten even more violent since then."

The other occupants decided to drop the conversation.

Mother Nature announced, "Yuki-Onna, who is the Winter Sovereign's regime?"

"I am, Lady Nature." Yuki was scraping off the tear tracks frozen onto her chilled skin; however, that moment of vulnerability was already walled. North would come to realize that Jack used a similar mask, except smiles replaced nonchalance.

The goddess nodded approvingly. "Good. We must prepare for the coronation."

"Coronation?" Tooth quirked her head to the side.

"Yes, who will do Jack Frost's duties as a Sovereign?" Ashun explained, "Yuki-Onna will be crowned as the Winter Sovereign until Jack Frost has returned and is fully healed to receive the crown. Do you have someone as your Head Seasonal?"

"Old Man Winter of course. Him or Eira, the Snow Queen. I have not decided yet."

Bedelia clamped a hand on Yuki's shoulder. "Don't worry, you'll do great as Jack's regime. I mean, you were perfectly fine in the two decades you were Sovereign."

"No, I was not. The whole court went into anarchy to the point where Morona and Boreas were begging for Jack's return." Yuki peered at the window that was repressing the North Wind's furious howling. "I do hope that Ou-sama will be found."

"Same here," Bedelia, Erantha and Ashun declared fiercely.

Bedelia continued, "And I will search high and low for him, no matter what the court tells me."

"I will aid Yuki in her scavenging at the Boogeyman's lair," Erantha swore.

Ashun topped it off. "I shall talk to the leaves and the winds with Mother Nature's help."

The five finished, clearly wanting the Guardians to go on, North being the first to notice.

North stated, "Tooth and Sandy are busy 24/7 but they keep watch out for Jack on free time. Bunny is preparing for Easter, so he search after holiday. I am free, so I will scour through books in Pole's library and help Yuki-Onna and Erantha with looking at Pitch's home, da?"

The other three Guardians gave signs of agreement.

Tooth smiled. "I'll send some of my girls throughout the world whenever they are free and all will be on the lookout as they collect the teeth."

_"I'll let the sand go free reign."_  Golden lettering floated above Sandy's head.  _"So that I can look too."_

"It seems like we all know our roles in this search," Mother Nature proclaimed, "With each other's aid, we may all find Jack in a relatively short time. Nevertheless, my court needs rest for the long day tomorrow. Guardians, you may come to the ceremony as you wish, and you all are granted with special permission from myself."

With a quick round of thanks and small goodbyes, both parties split up, each member worrying about their missing colleague.

Before leaving, someone stared at the moon above and whispered three words:

_"Please be okay."  
_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I just wrote a 3,000+ worded filler gosh. Well, it explains a ton of stuff...or leaves more questions idk. Well, have fun with this chapter. Hey, at least you people learned what Yuki meant by calling Jack Ou-sama! I say that's a win win for me!
> 
> Stay in tune for more updates and please drop in reviews! I wanna see how people think about my first fanfic :P oh and here's this thing.
> 
> List of OCs Mentioned So Far:
> 
> Mother Nature (GoC character with OC traits)  
> Tsar Lunar XII (GoC character with OC traits)  
> Anemone  
> Themis  
> Hel  
> Holler  
> Yuki-Onna  
> Khione (Sortaish from PJO with OC traits)  
> Bedelia Doiteain  
> Erantha  
> Ashun  
> Nefra/Ma'at  
> Ciara/Adrestia


	7. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack Frost wakes up after being waterboarded till he fell unconscious. He didn't expect to greet a long ago friend, much less that he could only remember Nefra and Sabrina.

(Hel's Catacombs)

Deadly silence greeted Jack as he slowly woke, darkness wrapped around him in a cocoon. There was nothing else: no cracking ice, no screams of terror, no suffocating water. Just his two constant companions, darkness and silence.

It was an understatement to say that Jack was surprised by the drowned out voices a beat later.

_"Breathing."_

_"…heartbeat."_

_"—twitching?"_

Jack swore that he heard these people before, yet why can't he remember them? If only he had enough strength to ask them instead of the feeble croak that left his mouth.

_"Still no heartbeat."_

_"What the—stop twitching."_

_"Jack…show—wake up."_

There again. Their voices were so familiar, especially the third one, and Jack had no idea why. Who could these people be?

_"Jack, please wake up! …lose you."_

Now that snapped him out of his reverie. Out of all of them, this girl's voice was the one that Jack recognized the best. However, he still couldn't link a name to the person calling for him.

_"At least say something!"_

Jack scrunched his brows in concentration. Who  _was_  she?

Yuki? No, her voice is much less emotional. Morana? The goddess literally would rather torture him to death.

Ma'at?

Wait, but Ma'at told him she hated that title, the title of her deceased mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother.

Then, what was her name?

Neve? Nef?

Wait— _Nefra_?

The voice cheered, _"Yes, oh yes Jack! Recognize anyone else?"_

Jack found the energy to reply, "No."

_"It's fine, Sabrina…happen."_

Wait, Sabrina was there? She'd only come if someone's…oh dear gods! Maybe Nefra said the wrong name or he heard her wrong.

Though, just in case, he rasped, "Sabrina?"

_"Mhmm! She's right here…wake up."_

Wait, wasn't he already awake? Jack spoke this out.

_"Huh? No Jack, you're still asleep."_

He was? That made no sense because then he wouldn't be having this conversation.

_"Can you open your eyes?"_

"No."

_"Wait, what?"_

Jack heard some mumbling before she returned.

_"Okay, Sabrina says this is normal."_

Before Jack could question her, a surge of light blinded him.

He screamed.

 

* * *

 

 

Once Jack's vision cleared, he was face to face with a teenager that was merely a few years older than him physically, probably nineteen or twenty.

Her curled, orange and black locks were tied in a messy ponytail. A golden necklace held a glowing pumpkin charm, contrasting with her nearly pale skin. Adorning her lithe body were a pair of black jeans, and an orange shirt that was peeking out from an unbuttoned, black jacket. Her hands were against Jack's bare chest, laced together.

However, Jack knew this person as Sabrina Hallows, the Spirit of Halloween.

With her were two other black haired adults, a female and male, who he knew that he was safe with, even if he couldn't remember their names.

Then, that's when his gaze fell onto  _her_.

She was physically fourteen years old, and the youngest out of them all, but she held enough wisdom to almost surpass Athena. Her black hair was a dirty tangle above her head, purple dress ripped to shreds and covered in her golden blood. Brown eyes peered into his cerulean, worry etched in her features. Of course Nefra would be panicking, she always did that whenever something went wrong.

The question was, what was wrong?

"Sabrina? Nefra?" Jack croaked out at long last.

"Yes Jack, it is nice to see you again after so long." Sabrina smiled, orange eyes looking at him.

Jack slowly nodded his head. "Wh-where am I?"

"Uh, where do you think frost-for-brains? Hel's stupid cell," the black haired woman, the one who Jack couldn't recognize, said.

"Who are you?" Jack wispy voice didn't reach any of their ears.

Nefra glared at the woman who yelled at him, either ignoring him or just not hearing him. "Seriously?"

"What? Isn't it obvious where the shit we are?"

Jack frowned, his question still not answered. He tried again, forcing out each syllable loudly. "Who. Are. You?"

"What the fuck." The black haired person finally heard him, glaring into his soul with her electric blue eyes. "Are you damn telling me you don't know who the hell I am?!"

Jack cringed and twitched in response, causing water to shoot up through his mouth.

"Ciara!" Nefra shouted at the person again, "What was that for?! He probably has brain trauma."

"From what, stupidity?" Ciara, as Jack finally remembered, responded.

Nefra gave her a death stare. "From lack of oxygen!"

"Well it's obvious he doesn't need to breathe if he survived three hours without it!"

"Ciara, he didn't even have a friggin pulse!"

When the argument reached at the loudest, the black, spiky haired man walked over and slapped both goddesses on the head. "Morons, are you not noticing what your foolish quarreling is doing to Frost?"

Nefra and Ciara slowly turned towards where Jack was lying to see a wide eyed, shivering Jack curled up against his side, hands clutching ears, as his mouth bubbled with more water. Sabrina futilely tried to ease the pain by lifting his legs slightly higher and massaging his back.

"Jack?" Nefra gasped as she dashed toward the teen, helping Sabrina treat him instantly.

"Why's he so scared?" Ciara voiced out.

"He most likely doesn't remember you," Sabrina paused her ministrations as she gathered her thoughts, "or at least most of you. It looks like as if he knows that you two met before, but not who you are. When you yelled at him, that was the breaking point."

"Oh." Ciara blinked, for once crestfallen.

Nefra turned to her then back to Jack in an instant. "Hey, Jack?"

Jack merely ripped his gaze at her, too tired and terrified to reply.

The girl pressed on, "The loudness is over now. You can uncover your ears." Once Jack did so, she continued, her voice even softer, "Can you remember their names?"

The boy shook his head. "Only Ciara. Not the tall man."

Nefra laughed. "Well, that tall man is Pitch Black, the Boogeyman. Also, Ciara is Adrestia too. Remember now?"

Yes, he did. Those two names got his brain to catch up with the present.

" _Oh_."

Sabrina closed her eyes, sighing. "Thank you, Nefra. May you hand me my bag beside you?"

Once Nefra gave the satchel to her, Sabrina stuck her head into the opening, rummaging through it. Nefra, on the other hand, had the urge check his pulse again and softly pressed two fingers along the carotid artery of Jack's neck.

Five seconds later, with wide eyes, Nefra frantically jabbed at the side of Jack's neck, then his wrist.

"Pitch, find his pulse on his foot!"

Jack glanced at Nefra. "Hu—? Hahaha!"

Ciara snickered. "Who would've thought that Jack Frost was ticklish?"

"HAHAHA! Stahahahap!" Laughs took over him as he squirmed under Pitch's touch."

At last, Pitch decided to finally drop Jack's foot and answered, "No pulse."

"No pulse?!" Nefra screamed, "Jack's dying!"

"Huh?" Jack warily looked at Nefra. "I feel pretty okay right now."

The Halloween spirit's voice was muffled by the course material of the bag as she spoke, "Do not fret, Nefra. Jack does not have a heartbeat."

"Wait, so I was right about Frosty here being made of snow?" Ciara joked.

Nefra thunked the other goddess's head. "Not now Cici. Are you serious though, Sabrina?"

"Yes I am. Jack told me about his heartbeat issue after I first checked him. It seems that he has frozen blood."

Nefra responded, "Oh yeah, Jack said that during the war!"

"War?" Sabrina questioned, still searching for whatever it was that she wanted.

Ciara lifted a brow. "Mhmm, the Winter and Summer War of 1934? Jack was stabbed so many times in one of the first battles that Nefra fussed over him nonstop for a week." The spirit she was explaining to merely hummed absentmindedly.

Suddenly, Sabrina's head popped up from the dark green satchel, her hand carefully holding a small, white pill. "Found it!"

"What'd you find?" Ciara placed herself between Nefra and Sabrina.

"It's a pill made out of pure moonlight," Sabrina answered as she crouched over Jack, "It helps with moon spirits like Jack since Tsar Lunar's magic correlates with moonbeams."

Sabrina then gently tilted Jack's head up. "Open up! Make sure you chew this until it dissolves completely, like any other pill."

He complied while the spirit giving him the medicine grinned reassuringly as she explained, "Jack also has healing magic that's only slightly subdued by the iron shackles, so it'll kick in even more to overcome any trauma he sustained."

Jack's eyes widened when he felt a tendril of pleasant warmth wrapped around him. He rejected the instinct to curl up in delight and instead let loose a moan-like sigh.

"Is Frost alright?" Pitch asked.

Jack opened his eyes, noticing that Pitch was leaning towards him. "Mhmm, just feels niiiiice…"

The treater beamed while she got up. "Good, that's the side effect of the moonbeams. Pure bliss; though, it only lasts a few moments."

"What do you mean?" Nefra asked, leaning against a stone wall.

Sabrina replied curtly, "Moonbeams have this property of bringing joy."

"I know that, but why does the high last a few seconds? Don't the moonbeam stay for a while?"

The orange and black haired spirit shrugged. "I don't know why. I suppose it's because they trigger the healing process later?"

"So?"

Ciara, already losing concentration on the conversation, glanced at the curled up Jack against the wall and blurted out, "Still doesn't explain why he's acting like a drug addict."

Sabrina pursed her lips. "He did something similar the first time. I guess people react to it differently."

Nefra, who was still next to the winter teen, slowly edged away from him, only to freeze when Jack buried his head into her lap. Soon, much to the others' amusement, Nefra subconsciously began to run her fingers through his hair.

Ciara cooed, "Ship it."

"Oh shut." Nefra's glare didn't last long as Jack started humming.

Pitch whispered in Sabrina's ear, "When will the drowsiness wear off?"

"In a few seconds," the spirit responded, eyes never leaving the scene, a smirk growing on her face.

After more than a few seconds, Jack blinked open his eyes, his irises glowing for a second. Nefra hadn't noticed, the reason why she was still petting him.

Jack yawned, then stared at Nefra in confusion.

The goddess dropped her hand. "Uhhh, hi?"

"Hi." Jack smirked, picking himself off of Nefra's lap.

When Jack noticed her blush, he started chuckling, nervous giggles from Nefra mixing with his laughter.

Ciara merely grinned deviously. "Been shipping this from the moment I saw you two."

Jack and Nefra, in response, crossed their arms at the same time. "Shut it."

Their poor attempt earned more laughs, even a snort from Pitch. The two being shipped locked eyes for a moment and dropped their act, joining in on the laughter.

They stopped when a male outside called out, "Sabrina, Mistress is calling for you!"

Even with Jack's scrambled mind, he oddly remembered that voice. "Did I ever hear him before?"

Sabrina smiled gently, picking up the discarded hand shackles off the floor. "Yes, he was the servant who came during your session, Acheron."

"Session?" Jack's gaze then fell onto the restraints in the spirit's hands, causing him to rub his own wrists. "Do you have to?"

"Mhmm," Sabrina numbly replied, "Acheron and I are still planning on your four's escape."

Ciara held out her hands as Sabrina snapped on the metal. "Why haven't you finished the plans?"

"Because," Sabrina started while she bound Pitch with the shadow links and locked him into his shady corner, "Mother made sure you four couldn't escape from her with my help. This is why I'm waiting for the Guardians to find the portal, or at least the Seasonal Court."

"They're looking for us?"

"Of course," Sabrina answered Jack's question, "They know where you are since Mother didn't make your kidnapping very subtle. She must've been impatient to get you."

"Do you have to go?" Nefra whined, concern lighting her eyes.

Sabrina nodded her head, ruffling Nefra's hair carefully. "Yes Neffie, for this plan to work, I must be on my mother's and grandfather's good side."

"Mistress is growing impatient!" Acheron's voice echoed through the room.

Sabrina clicked the ankle chains on the prisoners to the locks against the wall, picking up her bag.

"Well, I best be off." Sabrina froze half way up the first flight of stairs and warned, "Before I go, remember what I tell you. Nefra, be prepared to get a visit from Hel next. Ciara, watch out for grandfather. Kozmotis, do not crack under the strain of the weakened fearlings warring within you, be strong. And Jack…"

Jack looked up, connecting with Sabrina's grave expression.

"Do not dare utter your parent's names, nor your human name." Her typically warm, orange irises held a dangerous glint in them. "No matter what."

With that, Sabrina climbed up the rest of the stairwell and left the cell.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It might seem pretty dramatic that he forgets his memories then regains them so quickly, but it's possible to be so traumatized that you forget everything for a second. Plus, I wrote this as a 7th/8th grader and back when I was much less mature.
> 
> List of OCs Mentioned So Far:
> 
> Mother Nature (GoC character with OC traits)  
> Tsar Lunar XII (GoC character with OC traits)  
> Anemone  
> Themis  
> Hel  
> Holler  
> Yuki-Onna  
> Khione (Sortaish from PJO with OC traits)  
> Bedelia Doiteain  
> Erantha  
> Ashun  
> Nefra/Ma'at  
> Ciara/Adrestia  
> Sabrina Hallows  
> Acheron


	8. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Because of Jack's disappearance, Yuki is temporarily crowned Sovereign of Winter. As a result, she has to face the mostly prejudiced Winter Court, which Khione is a part of. Oh, how Yuki wished to blast off that bastard's face.

(Winter Palace)

Yuki was honestly surprised at how quickly the Court swore their loyalties to her at the coronation. Nonetheless, she should have realized they only acted that way for Lady Nature.

She should have realized so before she called the meeting. It was probably why she was stuck with the predicament at hand.

"I still do not understand why would we look for Sovereign Jack Frost."

"He's our Sovereign, General Morana!"

"And? He is supposed to be the strongest out of all of us! If he could not handle the threat, then how can we?"

"He was caught off guard. Sovereign Yuki-Onna said so herself, and she was the only other one there!"

"My point stands, General Gwenith, the Yuki-Onna was the only one there! Could it not be possible her claim is a ruse so that she could be crowned Sovereign for an indefinite amount of time?"

"Show some respect to Sovereign Yuki-Onna, General Morana!"

"Why would I ever respect a Yuki-Onna?"

"She is the Sovereign's regent!"

"So, just because she is a regent does not mean I have to show respect to her."

"You were General Boreas's regent! If he went out of commission, then would you have not taken his position?"

"I was not the regent, Khione was, you absolute fool! And of course General Boreas never went out of commission; he was much more powerful than Sovereign Jack Frost."

_How did Ou-sama keep himself from growing insane?_

"The point of the Sovereign is that they ARE the most powerful! Who are you to question Sovereign Jack Frost's title?"

Yuki let loose a sigh through her nose and held up her hand. "That is enough General Gwenith, thank you. General Morana, stop accusing me of treason or else you shall face the wrath of Lady Nature. She believes my story to be true, so there is no doubt that I did not cheat my way for this title. Now, both of you, sit."

The two immediately complied, the young Gwenith trying to control the frost spreading on his white pantsuit, Morana's icy blue glare creating a tension thick enough to cut with a knife. However, Yuki decided to ignore them as there were more important matters to be addressed.

"Now, where was I?" Yuki began as she started to pace, "Oh yes. I wanted to ask all of you to help assist Lady Nature and I to find the missing Sovereign. Are there any volunteers?"

"I am sorry to interject," Old Man Winter spoke, holding up a wrinkled hand, "but I agree with General Morana. How can we trust that you are not the one who kidnapped Sovereign Jack Frost?"

Yuki closed her eyes before making eye contact with Old Man Winter's black irises. "I can reassure you that my story has been validated by Lady Nature herself."

"What is this story?" Beira asked, the Giant's only eye peering at Yuki.

Yuki pursed her lips. "The only information that I can give with Lady Nature's permission is that both of us were fighting with Hel," she paused when her gaze fell on Khione's smug smirk, "and a masked person."

"A masked person, you say?" the snow goddess commented, "Isn't it humorous how a ruthless goddess that never appeared for a century would be the one to take Sovereign Jack Frost? That and a  _veiled_ person?"

"Yes, quite charming," Boreas added, fingers crossed together on the white marble table top, "Are you positive that we could believe you, Sovereign Yuki-Onna?"

Yuki fought the urge to place her hands on the half of the table reserved for her and Ou-sama and politely responded, "Have you forgotten that Hel already held Sovereign Jack Frost captive before?"

"Was that not a century ago?" Khione questioned in a velvety voice, "Surely Hel would have attempted to kidnap him sooner?"

Instead of Yuki answering back, it was the only Native American spirit, Yas, that did so, "From the millennia the Gods have known Hel, she is a manipulative idiot who likes playing with her targets. It's possible that she sought revenge for J— _Sovereign_  Jack Frost and took her time planning for her next attack."

Yuki smiled at the adolescent, "Thank you, Yas."

"However, Hel is not known to captivate the same spirit twice," Morana chimed in.

"Have you forgotten about how Jack literally stayed there for two decades?" Gwendolyn voiced out, "And that he still didn't break? Hel must've been angry for that."

"I suppose," Khione reasoned, "but who was the masked person?"

For some reason, her question got the whole room to explode into a ceaseless discussion, Yuki growing more exasperated with her failed tries at bringing order to the court.

It was a wonder that Ou-sama could keep this court so under control!

Just when Yuki thought of ceasing her attempts, General Gwendolyn came up to her, a pair of gloves in one hand.

"These'll help amplify your power; Gwenith and I built them last night for you," Gwendolyn whispered in Yuki's ear before handing them to her and edging back to her brother.

Yuki stared at the silk gloves in concealed awe.

_Thank goodness for those twins._

She fumbled with the gloves until she finally managed to slip them on. Coincidentally, the ice blue fabric matched with the sparkling gems on her royal blue gown.

_Now, where do I direct the—_

Unexpectedly, a shot of ice blasted from Yuki's outstretched hand, hitting Morana in the face. Yuki, on the other hand, was sent back a few steps from the recoil.

The whole Court looked at Morana with mixed expressions ranging from amusement to total shock, the room silent enough to hear a pin drop.

Morana was glaring daggers at the frozen, haphazard Yuki as she tried to claw off the growing frost on her face.

"Ummm," Gwendolyn stared at her new Sovereign with wide eyes, "Well, that was an unexpected result."

"Of course you two would give the Sovereign a defective machine!" Morana cried, "Why won't this stubborn frost get off?!"

"Wait, General Morana," Yuki said, "your temper is only making it worse."

"My temper?! I have an excuse for it!"

Yuki held up her hands. "I know you do; however, the frost will only continue to grow if you are not calm."

Morana grouchily complied, blue eyes twitching in suppressed anger.

Slowly, the frost receded, a trace easily pluckable still left. The goddess flicked off the particle and went back to her earlier position.

Once Morana calmed down, Yuki stripped off the gloves and handed them to Gwendolyn. "You two should fix any bugs, or try to deamplify the power to a level low enough for me to control."

The twin nodded their heads as Gwenith pocketed the device. Yuki stepped back to the front, peering at the other members.

"I believe everything has been solved, correct?"

Taking the silence as a yes, Yuki continued, "As I was saying Lady Nature and the Guardians will be conducting a search party. I ask that any volunteers raise their hands, please."

Four hands went up: Gwenith, Gwendolyn, Yas, and… Khione.

Yuki wished to groan. She knew what the snow goddess was up to, but how to stop her from joining?

"I am sorry to say I can only bring three members with me."

"Why are you to bring three?" Khione asked.

Yuki stared at her. "The Guardians only require three. Now, if none of you are to drop out—"

"I feel like we should eliminate Khione from the group," Yas interrupted, earning a few looks from the others.

"We agree too!" Gwendolyn and Gwenith added.

Yuki was internally grateful for those three. "I accept those terms. Now, this meeting has come to a conclusion. However, Generals Gwendolyn, Gwenith and Yas, please follow me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Btw, I'm not adding all the other Winter Court members cuz there are 17 members total and yeah LONG AF LISTS SUCK
> 
> List of OCs Mentioned So Far:
> 
> Mother Nature (GoC character with OC traits)  
> Tsar Lunar XII (GoC character with OC traits)  
> Anemone  
> Themis  
> Hel  
> Holler  
> Yuki-Onna  
> Khione (Sortaish from PJO with OC traits)  
> Bedelia Doiteain  
> Erantha  
> Ashun  
> Nefra/Ma'at  
> Ciara/Adrestia  
> Sabrina Hallows  
> Acheron  
> Morana  
> Gwenith  
> Old Man Winter  
> Beira  
> Boreas (Sortaish from PJO with OC traits)  
> Yas  
> Gwendolyn


	9. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not that Nefra wasn't glad that Jack regained his memory, but his bickering with Ciara was starting to grate her nerves. Though, that didn't mean she wanted to be taken to Hel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for this chapter: There is a SLIGHTLY grotesque nightmare scene. I have no clue if this would count as a massacre scene, but please SKIP the nightmare if you get flashbacks triggered by death and darkness.

(Hel's Catacombs)

Even though the moonbeams returned most of Jack's memories, it still took a few hours after Sabrina's "check up" for him to comprehend what happened. While Jack was confused about the whole ordeal, Nefra was thinking about the cause of his loss of memory. At the end, Nefra concluded that Jack lost his memories because of psychological shock since Jack said Hel waterboarded him, and with his memory of drowning, it was no surprise that he'd be a bit traumatized from that.

While Nefra was glad that he was all better, Jack quickly became bored without any confusion, and a bored Jack is someone nobody wants to be with.

"I spy with my little eye something… black?"

"Jack, everything here is fucking black," Ciara snapped.

The winter spirit grumbled back, "At least I'm trying to lighten up the mood."

"We understand that you are, but please just stop Frost," Pitch piped up from his corner of the dungeon.

Jack crossed his arms and replied in a sing-song voice, "Eh, I don't see why I sho~uld."

Ciara huffed, "Gah, this is so boring."

"Well, maybe because you're boring."

Nefra shook her head,  _oh those two_. "Guys, don't start another argument. Just be glad that none of us have been sent yet."

"To be honest, I'd rather get tortured by her than sit here and die from boredom with Jack Frost," Ciara replied.

"Wait, what? What's the problem with me?"

"I dunno, the fact that you exist?"

"Are you kidding me?!"

"Nope."

"What's my existence got to do with anything?"

"Everything."

"Really? How?!"

"Well, first…"

For the last couple of days, with all the free time in the world, Jack and Ciara decided to take up their old rivalry. Basically, that meant that they would argue  _nonstop_  about anything in general. Heck, they argued about socks for an hour!

Yes,  _socks_.

That explained why Nefra had the urge to bang her head against the wall till she fell unconscious.

Before she could do so, Pitch interrupted her thoughts with a sigh. "Is this not the fifth time?"

"Seventh," Nefra automatically corrected him while her brown eyes glared at the quarreling duo.

Pitch stared at the girl. "You were counting?"

"Yeah," Nefra answered, looking back at Pitch, "You should see them during the equinox and solstice. Their highest record was fifteen, until Mother Nature stormed in and threatened to freeze their mouths if they started again."

"Sounds like Emily Jane."

Nefra shrugged her shoulders to the best of her ability. "Not really, she's more temperate than that. Though, she does get angered easily."

Pitch hummed, "Exactly."

The two fell back into silence as they listened to the argument.

This scenario was honestly killing her. These two shouldn't focus on bickering over one another, but focus on finding a way out of here. Better yet, they should be focused on who will be the next subject, even if Nefra wanted to jump off a bridge at the moment.

While her mind wandered off in another world, Nefra still heard Jack's indignant shout echo through the room. "I'm not a nuisance!"

"You damn are with all your pranks!"

"You do the same thing!"

"At least I don't do them as much as you do!"

"Mine aren't as harmful as yours!"

"Hey, none of my pranks ever killed someone!"

"Your pranks hurt others!"

"So does freezing tongues and making people slip over ice!"

 _Ugh, can they not be so loud!_  Nefra internally screamed.  _Hel will hear them._

As if reading Nefra's thoughts, a loud thud outside quieted the two.

"Um, what's that?" Ciara asked.

Jack added, "Please don't tell me Ciara jinxed us again."

"I didn't jinx anything!" Ciara screamed.

"You did!"

"I didn't!"

"You did!"

Another loud thump ricocheted across the room, with a grumble telling them to shut up. The two arguers did so.

Before Nefra could relish the second of silence, the door banged open, revealing a very startled Sabrina next to a bulky guard who towered above her.

"I have unlocked the door for you, Mistress," the man replied in the gruff voice they heard earlier.

Sabrina fidgeted with the strap of the green medical bag slung around her shoulder. "Yes, I can see that. Thank you."

"Anything for you, Mistress." The guard stepped aside, showing the adolescent cowering behind him carrying a pile of what seemed to be heavy, iron chains. The near adult looked through his black bangs towards the group of prisoners, as if he were afraid they would harm him.

After a moment, Sabrina began to descend the stairwell. Noticing that the teen wasn't following, the guard pushed him with a beefy hand, nearly making him fall down. Shaking, the teen started following the Halloween spirit.

As Sabrina descended down the obsidian stairs, Nefra couldn't help but notice the nearly invisible, dried tear tracks on Sabrina's cheeks gleaming under the torch light. Once Sabrina reached the ground, the guard slammed the door shut, scaring the teen enough for him to topple over, getting himself tangled within the chains he was carrying as he rolled down.

All of them grimaced when he hit the floor with a thud.

"Are you okay, Acheron?" Sabrina asked, kneeling down so she could help him disentangle himself from the chains.

"I am alright, Master," Acheron responded as he slipped off the links.

Nefra, not knowing what else to do, said awkwardly, "Um, hi Sabrina?"

"Hello to you as well, Nefra," Sabrina smiled at her, the grin looking more like a grimace.

"Everything alright, Bri?" Jack asked as he stared skeptically at her.

"Unfortunately…no." Sabrina sighed. "Mother asked me to retrieve—"

Apparently the guard decided to interrupt her and banged the door open once more. "The insolent servant dropped your keys, Mistress!"

With that, he threw down the set of keys he was twirling on his finger and hit Acheron on the hip. The poor teen yelped, falling down in pain.

"Is there anything else you shall need?" the guard called out from outside of the cell.

Nefra grimaced at Acheron's state. "Hey, at least it wasn't a knife?"

Soon, a jeweled knife was thrown into the cell as well, but Acheron managed to dodge it on time.

The prisoners stared at the weapon that was lodged in the floor.

"At least—"

Ciara clamped Nefra's mouth shut with one of her hands, still peering at the knife. "Don't even say anything."

Nefra merely nodded her head.

"You should sit down, Acheron," Sabrina said as she took the keys and tried to get the teen down on the ground.

Acheron shook his head. "No, it is alright, Master. Also, we came to retrieve you, Ma'at."

Nefra simply stretched out her hands to allow Sabrina to unlock the shackles binding her to the wall, mildly shocked at* Acheron's directness. The black haired teen merely limped towards her and attached some chains to the hooks of her restraints. Before the three could move, Hel's shout startled all the inhabitants of the cell.

Acheron's eyes widened in fear. "We should hurry up, Master, before Mistress hangs us both!"

Sabrina, still nonchalant, grabbed the set of chains and started walking out with Acheron in tow, the jeweled knife thrown down strapped to her waist.

* * *

As the trio walked down the hall, Nefra broke the silence with her question: "Why were you guys picking me up?"

Sabrina kept strolling in the front, not looking back as she replied, "Mother caught me."

"What?"

Acheron looked around hastily, seeing a few guards, before replying quietly. "Master was trying to sneak in a key to the cell during the duration of Jack Frost's healing," Acheron replied, dark brown eyes connecting with Nefra's, "Mistress thought it would be the best punishment if Master were to retrieve her next convert."

"Hmm," Nefra hummed as she too swept her gaze around the occupied hallway. Why does Acheron call Sabrina Master instead of calling Hel Master?

Before they could submerge into silence once more, Acheron said suddenly, "I cannot believe Mistress is converting such young spirits."

Nefra curtly responded, "I'm not young."

"Master said you were only three hundred and sixteen years old," the servant countered, picking at a thread on his dark green tunic, "That is very young for a spirit, much less a goddess. You are merely a child."

"I guess so." Nefra looked down at her shredded purple dress.  _The last one papa gave._  "But I'm not sure if I'm mentally a child anymore."

Acheron muttered, "None of us are."

With nothing else left to say, the three walked along quietly.

Once they reached a door, Sabrina sighed. "It appears that we are here."

Nefra stared at the heavy, iron door with a four, in Old Norse, scratched into it as she picked at the crumbly rust along the frame.  _Or was it something else?_

Sabrina glanced at her before shouting, "Mother we are here!"

"And? I am waiting!" was Hel's response.

If glares were a weapon, then the door would have disintegrated under the force of Sabrina's as she pulled out a key ring. Fiddling with them until she found the right one, Sabrina unlocked the door, Acheron pushing it open with a groan.

Inside was a nearly barren room, empty except for the metal table, a set of chairs, a small sink engraved into the wall, and a stool with something akin to a medical tray sitting on top. Hel was on one of the seats, playing with the plunger of a syringe that held a writhing, black mass.

Nefra knew exactly what that mass was.

"Hello Mother," Sabrina droned in a gloomy tone, "Do you need any more assistance?"

Hel set down the injection onto the metal tray and stood up, snatching the iron links in Sabrina's hand, "Yes, in fact, I need you to assist me with chaining her to the table. After that, you may leave."

By Sabrina's distasteful expression, it was clear that she wanted to do anything but leave Nefra alone.

"Of course Mis—Master," Acheron stammered, dragging Hel's attention to him.

"Did I ask for your opinion, Servant?" Hel responded in a steely manner.

"No, Master."

Even though Hel wasn't paying attention, Sabrina still obeyed Hel's commands and set forth to restrain the goddess.

Nefra, on the other hand, didn't know whether to smile or say something to Sabrina. Thus, she decided to keep a neutral face and didn't fight against her, even when the cold steel numbed her.

She knew that there was bound to be worse.

Sharing a tight grin with Nefra, Sabrina left the room, Acheron trailing behind like a guard.

Once the two left, Hel faced Nefra, a small smirk on her face. "Hello Ma'at."

"Just get this over with," Nefra replied tersely.

"I see you want to 'cut to the chase', as they say."

Nefra gave Hel a plain look that said it all.

"Alright then." Hel picked up the syringe she had earlier and, after a moment of thinking, set it back down onto the tray.

Nefra blinked. "Huh?"

Hel chuckled as she chose another shot, this one with something akin to nightmare sand, or better yet, is nightmare sand, swimming within the holder. "You do not presume me as a fool, do you? I know the fearling itself will not work on you."

"I suppose you're right," Nefra replied, "But, what's in there?"

"You'll find out sooner or later, Ma'at."

Nefra felt the prick of the needle before fatigue washed over her.

It  _is_  nightmare sand.

Even though she felt every grain of the sand burrow underneath her tissue, felt every grain leave a pinprick of a fiery sensation as they made their journey towards her soul, felt the subsided bundle of fearlings within the center of her soul squirm out and grasp the grains of sand to strengthen themselves, Nefra's eyes drooped, heavy with sleep.

 _Don't fall asleep!_  Nefra told herself as she blinked her eyes harshly.

Hel must've known that she didn't sleep in the cell, or else she would've been consumed by the fearlings. If only Hel would realize that Nefra would die with enough darkness swimming under her skin. After all, she was a harmony spirit by blood, slight more immunity be damned.

She nearly screamed in agony when the second shot was administered, the fearling this time successfully penetrating her core without being weakened, slicing her up as if her body was nothing but margarine. The fragments that remained were swiftly shredded by the other three supposed-to-be weak fearlings, all the meanwhile the nightmare sand swimming around her mind, the only protected part of her.

That is, until they successfully found an opening through her stretched out mind, piercing through it with rabid enthusiasm.

The worst part was, not the fact that she hung over the precipice of sanity, but the feeling of guilt that washed over her, knowing that she failed Jabari.

_'Stay strong, Nefra.'_

Couldn't he see that she couldn't? She was merely a child, just like everyone else said. Just a child.

_'We all depend on you.'_

But why her? It was impossible for her to defend the world from entities older and wiser than her. Simply impossible.

_'Know that you will never be alone.'_

So, when will the loneliness end, Papa? No matter how much she interacted with others, she would always be alone. Burdened with loneliness.

"I failed you Jabari and Papa," Nefra whispered before she stopped fighting.

* * *

(Nightmare)

_Fire. That was all she could see. The destructive beast consumed all life within sight and left everything else alone._

_It was funny in a way; the fire only burning away the souls of those that it encompassed, completely ignoring the homes that could add fuel. Actually, the flame seemed to be using the souls they devoured as a food source._

_However, that didn't make the experience any less painful._

_There were the cries of babies separated from mothers, cries of the nearly dying, cries from the earth as the inhabitants all shriveled away to dust, one by one._

_The more she ran into the fire, the more smoke clogged her throat, the stronger the stench of death reeked the air, the weaker her hope became._

_The flaming inferno nipped at her in earnest, even though she futilely tried to tame the flames. After all, a harmony spirit cannot control the flames of death, the mockery of blue and black in substitute for bright red and orange._

_Hel's latest creation._

_She could've sworn that the fire was slowly crawling its way into her body. Ghost like hands left trails of hot pain as they submerged themselves deeper into her heart, as they reached out for the strings of her soul to play with. She didn't want them to taint her, she really didn't, but what defenses did a twelve year old have?_

_The calling of the elders telling her to come back taunted her with abandonment. It was simple really, just go back and all this misery will be gone._

_Though, she can't leave Papa behind. Not ever. Ever again._

_"Papa!"_

_No response._

_Now, that would never stop her. Oh no, she merely ran into the flames even more. She already failed him once for being the village misfit, she can't fail him again._

_"Papa, where are you?"_

_When she heard a masculine croak, she immediately scrambled to the source. On the way there, a dying woman grabbed her ankle, sending her toppling over a corpse._

_"Please, help me!" the woman groaned as she held on firmly._

_She stared back, innocent, brown eyes widening in fear when she saw a shadow creeping towards them. Soon, the beast trampled on top of the withering woman, screams of terror and delight melding into a haunting melody. With a cry, she kicked away from the two and ran as fast as she could._

_"Papa! Papa! Where are you!" Tears rolled down her face, one by one, like the flames that extinguished life._

_Even without any reply, she knew where to go, and soon she found him lying in a sea of bodies._

_"Papa!" she shouted in glee as she tossed the dead out of her way._

_She was surprised to see him staring at her in shock. "Nefra, go away!"_

_"No papa, I'm not leaving you behind." she replied, trying to reach out to him._

_When she did uncover Papa, the sight of his state made her heart drop._

_Half of his face was covered in blisters, his right eye swollen till all she could see was a sliver of amber. Splotches of burnt flesh painfully hung onto his arms, clothes tattered but not charred. What scared her the most was the small, black arrow buried in his right arm, oozing out bits of black goo._

_He was infected._

_"Nefra, please I beg you, run as far away as you can!"_

_She shook her head in disbelief. No. Nononononono._

_Of everyone, why must her loved ones be targeted?_

_"Papa," she whispered._

_"It is alright, my darling. Please, go for safety."_

_She glared at the man. "No! I will never leave again!"_

_"Please, Nefra." He coughed up a blob of black slime. "I do not have much time left."_

_She merely crouched down and grasped both of his hands, stubbornly staying in place as the darkness swallowed up his right limb._

_"What are you doing?"_

_She stared into his amber eyes. "I don't wanna be alone anymore. If you leave, so will I."_

_Papa shook his head. "Nefra, you are the heiress of your mother's throne. Please, save yourself."_

_"No! Remember that I'm not the heiress anymore? I have to save you, Papa."_

_"Nefra—"_

_"No! I'm staying!"_

_"Nefra!"_

_She never heard his voice be so…authoritative._

_Her surprised expression must've calmed him as he slowly responded, "You have to leave me here, alright? I am as good as gone right now. I will never permit you to jeopardize your health for me, understand?"_

_She gulped. "Yes, Papa."_

_"Good, but before you go." He then pulled out a beaded bracelet and tied it on with shaky hands. "Know that you will never be alone."_

_With that, he pushed her away, a second before a fearling swooped in and engulfed him in darkness._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> List of OCs Mentioned So Far:
> 
> Mother Nature (GoC character with OC traits)  
> Tsar Lunar XII (GoC character with OC traits)  
> Anemone  
> Themis  
> Hel  
> Holler  
> Yuki-Onna  
> Khione (Sortaish from PJO with OC traits)  
> Bedelia Doiteain  
> Erantha  
> Ashun  
> Nefra/Ma'at  
> Ciara/Adrestia  
> Sabrina Hallows  
> Acheron  
> Morana  
> Gwenith  
> Old Man Winter  
> Beira  
> Boreas (Sortaish from PJO with OC traits)  
> Yas  
> Gwendolyn


	10. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack now faces the one he fears the most, Khione. After what she's done to him, there's no surprise as to why he shies away from her touch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, you see that non-con warning up there in my description? Yeah, there's a reason for that, and one is because of this chapter. As such, I'll be marking any sexual interactions so that readers that want to avoid that stuff (and I don't blame you) can do so. I feel like the only reason why I justify mot marking this M for some sexualized chapters is cuz of my excessive amount of warnings lmao. Anyway, just hope Y'all enjoy this chapter regardless!
> 
> Again, NONCON WARNING FOR THIS CHAPTER.

(Hel's Catacombs)

Once the door slammed shut, Jack sighed, "I hope Neffie's going to be fine."

"From my experience in this hellhole, no." Ciara pursed her lips in a thin line.

Jack deadpanned at the goddess. "I know, you're not the only one who spent a while here."

"Well, I've stayed here far longer than you ever had."

"Really?" the winter spirit challenged, "I've stayed here for thirty years."

Ciara rose an eyebrow in mock astonishment. "Interesting, but I've been here for over two hundred years."

Pitch, who had been muting out the two rivals, suddenly turned around, his shackles silent as ever. "Excuse me, what?"

"Well, what'd you think? It's not like Hel would try to discard her 'useful' sister," Ciara snapped.

"Yeah, but still. How'd she keep you here so long?" Jack questioned, "You could literally kick her butt if you wanted to!"

"Blackmail, duh?" The goddess crossed her arms. "Now, let's just talk about something else."

Jack merely smirked. "Ooh, I got under your skin! How'd you get blackmailed by Death of all people?"

"How'd you get blackmailed by Khione then?" Ciara shot back.

Pitch then looked at Jack. "You were once—"

"Yes!" Jack interjected, "Wait, how'd you find out about that?"

"Through Neffie, of course," Ciara teased, "Anyway, you're so curious about me, why can't I be curious about you?"

"You know, there's a difference between you getting blackmailed to stay here and my example."

"I don't see it," Ciara said, "I mean, they are both bitches after all. Plus, we were both imprisoned by them. Me with being bound to this hellhole and you being bound by a marr—"

"Let's not go there," Jack growled, his small smile immediately falling, "I get the point."

"I don't see why you're so triggered Frosty, it's just a—" Ciara stopped when she saw Jack's scowl.

Jack blinked in shock, but once realizing why Ciara paused, his smirk returned, and he joked, "Cat's got your tongue, Cici?"

"What'd you just call me?"

Before the two could start an argument again, the door was banged open by the same guard, except this time Khione was with him.

 _Oh no._ Jack's stomach suddenly flip-flopped when he saw the goddess.  _I think I can taste breakfast, but I didn't eat anything._

"Stupid guard," Khione grumbled, her slight pout fading into a cheerful smile when her eyes landed on Jack. Thus instead of going down the stairwell, she was swept up by her wind and gracefully landed down below.

"Jackie!" Khione cooed, "Missed me?"

Jack slowly backed up against the wall as Khione stepped closer to him, only to be stopped when Khione suddenly grabbed ahold of the chain between his wrists. He internally screamed when the goddess yanked on the metal, jerking him towards her.

Hands on the soot-covered ground, Jack tilted his head up and replied, "You wish, Snær Bikkja."

Khione chuckled, squatting low enough to be eye level with Jack. "Oh my prince, we both know that vulgar nickname has no effect on me."

"Slut."

Everyone in the room stared at Jack, a mixture of emotions on each of their faces as they processed what he said. Ciara was plain amused, Pitch was surprised, and the tightened grip on Jack's chain was enough of a clue to tell that Khione was livid.

Ciara was the first to snap the tangible silence with a snort. "Ooh Frosty, never knew you could ever say that!"

 _In fact, it wasn't me who said tha—_ Jack interrupted his thought with an internal shout, ' _JOKUL!'_

' _ **Yes, Ungr Vetr?'**_ Jokül responded.

' _It was you, wasn't it?'_

' _ **Perhaps so; however, you know she deserved it.'**_

Jack instantly ignored the other's ranting when Khione suddenly stood up, lifting him above the air, a steely hold on the iron link in her hand. The goddess drew him close, to the point where the blue fabric of her robe slightly tickled against his bare chest, her other slender hand holding his chin hard enough to bruise.

Khione moved her lips to his right ear, her viciously cold breath brushing against the shell of his ear as she whispered, "You shall regret ever saying that, my prince, for you are no match to me here in this dungeon. Understand?"

Even though he was supposed to be the Winter Sovereign, her king, and ruler, it took an effort for Jack to hide the slight quiver in his voice as he choked out, "What if I said that it was Jokül?"

His response instantaneously melted away the tension in the room.

Khione barked out a laugh and drew Jack away from her, still keeping him above the ground. "Of course he would dare speak to me as such, I should have known. I apologize deeply, Jackie. May you ever forgive me?"

"Sure?" Jack stared at Khione in confusion.  _Wasn't she about to kill me a second ago?_

"Very well." Khione gently set Jack on the ground and detached him from the wall.

Because of Jack's bewildered expression when his ankle restraints were unlocked, Khione continued, "Now Jackie, do not presume I came here to simply flirt. I have a task with you."

"I honestly was hoping that you just came here," Jack remarked, "but I guess I shouldn't have expected that."

Khione merely lifted herself and Jack off the ground with the assistance of her wind, carrying them off to Gods know where.

 

* * *

 

"You know, taking off the blindfold would be really helpful right now."

"Of course," was Khione clipped response before a faint light washed over his eyes.

Once again he was bound onto some table, this time in a laid out position with his arms and legs spread out. Not only that, there was an array of spears, swords, daggers, and other sharp weapons covering up the wall beside him, some coated with dried blood, others shining in the torchlight. When he looked at his feet, there were some metal contraptions that reminded Jack of fairy wands, each wand having a star at the top that glowed their own color: lava red, ice blue, electric yellow and chalk white.

Khione moved from her chair at his side to snatch the electric yellow wand, pressing a button at the bottom to cause it to buzz with electricity. Maniacally, the woman edged closer to Jack, wand clasped in her right hand.

Jack did not like where this was going.

"Now as you very well know," Khione began, drawing Jack's attention off the device, "Hel is curious about your human past."

Jack deadpanned, locking his eyes with the goddess. "No kidding."

Khione ignored him as she continued her monologue, "As such, she has trusted me into breaking you down enough to spill the information she desires."

"So, you're going to use pixie wands to make me talk?" Jack rose an eyebrow.

"Not just any pixie wands—wait."

Jack snickered as Khione fumbled with her words, even after she smacked him across the face leaving a stinging handprint on his cheek.

"Stop your foolish laughter at once. These devices are designed to ensure pain from four different elements: fire, ice, electricity, and air," Khione huffed.

"Basically what Nefra can already—ow!"

Jack yelped when the wand was brutally slapped onto his chest, his muscles contracting together. The goddess glared at her captive, teeth clenched together.

"Yes, Hel absorbed the power of the Harmony Spirits she killed into each wand," Khione seethed, hitting Jack's shoulder hard enough to singe his skin, "I am already annoyed at your petty squabbling. Do not bring forth my anger any further."

Even though the warning sent off bells in his head, he still replied, "Really? What would you do if I did?"

A beat later, Khione zapped his crotch.

It felt as if a million shards of glass suddenly sunk into his organs, shredding them apart as if they were nothing but melted butter. He screamed when the shards burrowed deeper into his body, splitting himself in half. Sharp explosions ignited within his genitals, setting ablaze the entire lower region of his body.

He just wanted the pain to end, end,  _ **end**_! What had he ever done to deserve such anguish?

Just when his eyes were about to roll, the current stopped as abruptly as it began.

His whole body ached, from his lungs taking in as much oxygen as possible to his curled toes. How was he going to be able to survive the interrogation if it hadn't even begun yet?

Khione smirked when Jack spasmed from the aftermath. "As I said, do not play cocky with me."

"Got that." Jack rasped out, eyes now glued to the wand.

"Now, I have merely one question to answer and that is all," Khione spun the device in her hands as she talked, "What are the names of your parents?"

' _ **Do not even dare tell her, Ungr Vetr!'**_  Jokül's voice suddenly boomed in his head.

"What?"

After a zap on his thigh that added more to the accumulated pain, Jack gritted his teeth. "It was just a question!"

"You do not answer a question with another!" Khione yelled.

Jack shouted back, "You do if you don't understand the point of the question! Heck, how am I supposed to even know that?"

Khione crossed her arms. "Everyone knows their parents' names. I knew my father's for millennia."

"That's because Boreas uses his name in the court! You'd be insane if you didn't know his name," Jack responded, then muttered, "If you're not already."

His teeth clamped together as his chin was suddenly jerked upwards by a chilled hand, forcing him to peer at the dark scowl set on her face. "By the Gods, when will you ever learn to not annoy the one who has the upper hand?"

"When it isn't fun to annoy people?"

' _ **I would be quiet if I were you,"**_ Jokül piped up in his head.

Jack nearly rolled his eyes. ' _Kinda too late for that.'_

Instead of an electric shock, Jack felt teeth sinking into the flesh of his neck, causing him to frown at the goddess when she sat up once again. "What was that?!"

"It seemed you were not understanding the point of the shocks," Khione stated, "Thus, I tried a different approach."

"By biting me?!" Jack indignantly shouted.

"Yes, and did it not work?" Khione commented, "However, that was not the point of why you are here."

"Yeah, I kinda know that. Though, I'm not spilling anything just yet," Jack added, jangling his bound wrists, "so it'd be best to just let me go."

"Are you sure about that?" Specks of frost from Khione's hand spread across Jack's browline as she traced them. "I could still waterboard you to talk. I heard it was very effective for Hel."

She cackled when the boy gulped nervously. "Oh don't be scared of that, Jackie. I could never imagine doing something as harsh as that."

' _ **But that doesn't mean she won't do anything worse, Ungr Vetr.'**_

' _I get it, Jokül.'_

"Alright then, what will you do?" Jack asked, gaze slipping on the other wands at his feet.

Khione smiled as she replaced the yellow-starred device with the red starred one. "This."

A fiery sensation traveled through his veins, originating from the soles of his feet. It was as if lava was being poured all over them, heat sinking into his bones.

"YOW! Okay, I get it!"

She stopped digging the wand in his feet. "Will you say your parents' names then?"

"I don't even know their names!" Jack replied, exasperated, "I can't really give a name unless you want me to make up one."

Khione abruptly moved the wand to his groin, tip barely touching the sensitive area. "I don't believe you at all, my prince. I shall give you one last chance or else enjoy this."

The radiating heat causing his stomach to flip, and he blinked his eyes harshly, tears falling from his eyes. "As I said, I have no clue what to say."

Nothing could have prepared him for the blistering agony when Khione grounded the hot metal against his crotch.

He screamed as pain shot from his genitals once again, this time it is an engulfing flame set to burn his entire body from the inside. No, it was the core of the fire, the blue, that swallowed him. It worsened as Khione tried different angles, and he tried to squirm to get away from the penetrating heat, only in vain when Khione managed to dig deeper.

' _Jokül, stop the pain!'_ Jack screamed desperately, ' _Please, help!'_

The other, in return, sighed. ' _ **I'm so sorry, Ungr Vetr. Nightlight and I are trying something, but we cannot do anything as long as you're bound.'**_

' _What can I do then? You told me to keep my parents' identities a secret, but it couldn't be that bad for this!'_ Tears welled up in his eyes, even after the burning metal was removed.

' _ **If they find out, you shall be in a worse predicament than now.'**_

Khione looked down at him in pity, and maybe even sadness, as she held up the wand. "I did not wish to inflict so much harm upon your body, Jack. However if you remain so stubborn, I have no choice."

' _ **Do not DARE say anything, Ungr Vetr, or you shall regret it! Please, do it for both of us,'**_ Jokül whispered before his influence faded away, not being able to keep the connection up with the little strength he had.

 _It's just me then._ "I won't be saying anything anytime soon, Khione," Jack responded coldly before groaning, "Though, mind going at least a bit gentle on that region?"

Anger flashed in the goddess's eyes. "I shall not do any of your requests if that means you will still keep quiet."

 _Worth a try,_  Jack thought,  _Hmm, I wonder if Jokül would yell at me for saying that._

**(Okay, this is where things get sexual a bit, not much, but yeah. I'll tell when it's done too!)**

However, it seemed that Khione did have enough sympathy to grab the blue starred one. If Jack could guess from the color, it was the ice wand.

He accidentally let loose a sigh as the cool metal numbed away the agony left by the heat, but winced once the cold started biting into his flesh.

Khione, frowning at the lack of reaction from Jack, moved the device to his chest, swirling the tip of the star against his nipple. She grinned when Jack failed to hold back a whine and continued her ministrations much harder.

He squinted his eyes, tears slipping away as he was overwhelmed with a bout of pain with a bit of pleasure mixed in. The worst part was Jack had no idea why, of everything, there was that hint of pleasure pounding at him while Khione tortured him. Thus, Jack did the only thing he could think of doing.

He sobbed.

He sobbed as Khione sped up her movements and began to nip his other nipple. He sobbed as she gently wiped away his tears and taunted him with betraying Jokül. He sobbed as the pleasure increased and he was helpless to stop it.

Soon his body started quivering like a taut bowstring, the knot growing in his stomach causing him to start heaving.

"Please just stop, Khione," Jack begged, voice wispy as he silently retched, "P-please."

"I am heavenly sorry Jackie," Khione replied, "I can only stop once I get the information I desire."

Jack then opened his eyes, locking his despairing blue with her lustful black. "I don't know much about their names, Khione, I really don't."

"It's not that you do not know," Khione whispered as she brushed the tip of the cold star against his collarbone, "Your stubbornness is the only cause as to why you do not answer."

"Touché, I'll give you props for that." He nearly moaned when the wand hit a cluster of nerves on his neck, Khione lewdly grinning at the catch of his breath and continued teasing the area.

Jack didn't dare to open his mouth until she paused for a second, then he rushed out, "But still, I only heard them say it in passing!"

In victory, Khione put her face against her crossed arms on the table, face close enough to Jack's for him to smell her minty breath. "In passing is good enough for us. Now be a good little Sovereign and tell me what their names are, and I shall let you go back to the cell."

 _Ugh, I'm so sorry for this Jokül, even if I don't know why you're so eager to keep it a secret._ Jack glanced at Khione's waiting face before looking down again.  _Though, maybe I could use their other name._

"Iah and Selene," Jack answered, "Their names were Iah and Selene."

"Alright then," Khione said, placing the wand down with the others. Jack sighed in relief, but soon his eyes widened when he saw Khione picking up the white starred wand. "I had some amazing plans with this, too bad I cannot accomplish them. Although, I never declared when  _exactly_  you'd return."

"W-wait Khione, please d-don't do—"

Jack couldn't finish his statement before the white star was on his chest, his breath escaping him. As he gasped for air like a fish, Khione leered at him, her eyes shining with enough lust to put Aphrodite to shame.

"I have always wondered how a breathless kiss would come from you, Jackie. Perhaps, now is my opportunity to see."

With that, she dived into his gaping mouth, one hand holding the wand against his chest, the other running through the individual strands of his tangled hair.

He writhed against her, but the way she straddled his hips caused his frantic movements to deepen the kiss. He tried to free himself from her grasp, but the gentle yet steely grip she had on the nape of his scalp locked him in place. He held in all his tears, but the overwhelming sense of forced pleasure made him release them.

In his anguish, the piece of metal slithered from the center of his chest up to his neck, rhythmically tapping on that sweet spot once again. Her tongue tangled itself up with his, slowly stroking his stoic tongue as her lips rubbed against his chapped ones. Black dots swam in his darkening vision as pangs of desire shot down his spine like ripples of energy, the knot in his stomach growing even stronger. He couldn't do anything with that fierce hold on his breath she had, except letting loose soft whimpers.

Once she heard him, she shut off the wand. The air suddenly rushed into his body, everything flickering dark as unconsciousness was near him, but not close enough to take him out of there. Her lips were still against his, not even resting to give him oxygen.

Then, she stopped kissing him, a thick line of saliva running between them. He took the opportunity to breathe in more air to fill his lungs. Still, Jack couldn't help but feel worried, especially with the lascivious grin plastered on Khione's face that grew as his discomfort levels rose.

His worry was for a good reason when she slipped back into his mouth for a second time. He heard the soft plink of the wand after she had discarded it, instead of using her fingers to massage that same spot on his neck.

Regardless of the kiss, he couldn't keep some of his desperate noises to himself, unintentionally turning her on. As such, her fingers began seeking more of his skin, slowly exploiting parts of him he didn't want to be touched.

His eyes widened when her finger hooked onto the rim of his pants.

**(Okay, the sexual torture is over now!)**

However before she could go any further, someone yelled, "What is going on here?!"

Khione instantly untangled herself from him, legs still straddling his hips, as she stammered, "Hel!"

The goddess, in return, glared at her ally. "Get off of the boy."

Khione complied, jumping off him as quickly as she got on and sat in the chair beside him. He couldn't help but pant in relief, even if it was Hel that saved him.

"What the fuck  _happened_?!" a voice shouted, "What the shit did you damn do?!"

That was when Jack noticed the others: a shocked Sabrina, a sympathetic Acheron and a fuming Ciara that was bound by chains held by the Halloween spirit.

Ciara's lethal gaze fell on him, and he knew that he was quaking like a leaf, a tirade of never-ending tears falling from his eyes, but he couldn't bring himself to care. Khione could no longer continue the game she was playing, and he was relieved by that.

Once she looked away from the stomach-wrenching sight, Ciara hissed, "You are a fucking whore!"

Before anyone could stop her, Ciara tackled Khione off her chair in fury, Sabrina blocking off Jack's view. By the sounds of crunching cartilage and grunts of pain, he had a fair idea of how gruesome the fight was and jerked in fear.

Noticing the flinch, Sabrina knelt down till she was eye level with him and slowly combed through his hair. Jack tensed, slightly shivering when the emotions he felt through the kiss rebounded back at him.

Wide-eyed, Sabrina stopped and kissed his forehead. "I apologize Jack."

He shook his head. He just wanted to be left alone, to not be touched by even his friends. Jack knew that his avoidance to touch was a troubling issue, yet he couldn't bring any strength to care.

After a while, it seemed that Hel's patience was waning. "Enough with this nonsense!" Hel barked, "What are you waiting for, servant? Break it up!"

Acheron paused for a beat then leaped into action, Jack clenching his eyes shut and turning away.

"Jack, just open your eyes," Sabrina whispered softly, "Jaack."

Jack whined as his head was moved towards the fight; however, when he looked at the area, he saw Acheron holding onto a part of Ciara's chains, allowing Khione to stand up and frost the gashes she received. He was relieved to see that Ciara had only some bruises which she shook off.

"I thought we had agreed that Jack would be mine!" Khione growled.

He was shaken.  _What?_

Hel gave her a deathly stare. "I have; however, you shall do as you please with him  _afterward_."

The winter spirit in question felt his stomach flip, bile soon crawling up his throat as his nausea increased. Do as you please? He didn't even want to think about what Khione had in store for him later on, knowing that he would start vomiting if he did so.

Skip that, he  _was_  already spewing out bile, gurgling on it because of his lack of strength to move his head to the side. Nevertheless, Sabrina had other plans and tilted his head towards her, not disgusted by the sheets of bile and water that erupted from his mouth.

This brought Hel's attention, and with a sideways look at him, she told Khione, "Leave."

With a final glare directed to Ciara, Khione stormed out into the hallway, blue robe swishing behind her.

Hel took the link out of Acheron's hands and ordered, "Make sure she goes to her quarters, and bring me Jack Frost's garment."

"Yes, Master!" Acheron replied before following the infuriated Snow goddess.

Hel handed Ciara's chain to Sabrina, Ciara sending a grieving glance at Jack.

The goddess nonchalantly scanned the panting Winter immortal, his heaving ceasing once Khione left. She moved to hold the teen's chin, forcing him to look directly in her red eyes. "Hush now, Jack Frost."

Even though she was the enemy, even though he was her captive, even though it was her fault in the beginning for this mess, he couldn't help but repeat over and over in his soft voice, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

As the other two stared in shock, Hel shushed his mantra with her hand. "Do not thank me just yet, Frost."

She then closed her eyes, rubbing her temples in annoyance. "Why had I ever let her have a go at him without watching her?"

She then turned to her daughter, still having a firm grip on Jack. "Give me your dreamsand."

Sabrina's eyes widened at the request. "H-how did you—"

"Give me the dreamsand!" Hel snarled, "Now."

The Halloween spirit complied, slowly pulling out the item from her satchel and handing it to her.

Hel opened the small cloth bag and dipped three fingers inside, catching bits of the sparkling, golden sand. Pulling the drawstring, Hel tossed the bag back to Sabrina, who caught it instantly and shoved it away.

Jack tried to edge his face away from her fingers; however, her hold on his chin restrained him from moving. He twitched when her fingers brushed against his brow line, lightly kneading his scrunched skin. Immediately, a wave of drowsiness washed his body, relaxing as the death deity continued.

His vision darkened as he allowed sleep to take him away from the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the end, I decided on fanfiction.net to not add in the list of OCs. Instead, I'll be making a list of NEW OC's as they are first introduced in a chapter. I know I have a lot of OCs, but at least it helps to destroy copyright if I ever want to publish this!
> 
> No new OCs, so blehhh. Have a nice one!


	11. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No matter how much Ciara tries to put up an act of nonchalance, deep down she's broken just like everyone else, or even more so. After all, it doesn't help that she's been witnessing more of the atrocities Jack has faced and have no power to stop them from haunting the teen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, the only warning I can give is there's REALLY minor SEXUAL CONTENT in the Nightmare scene. Just really minuscule. Oh, and that there's SOMEWHAT BLOODY TORTURE too. Sorry ya'll, I try my best to warn people for each chapter.

(Hel's Catacombs)

 

Ciara was just plain bored as she hung in between two pillars, hands chained above her head. She thought that she'd be in the room Jack was in earlier, but it seemed she was wrong.

 

 _Good thing too._ The woman thought as she growled. _That bitch had to get at him like the slut she is. If only I could've done worse._

 

Just as Ciara was starting to think that the boredom would kill her, the door opened, casting a stream of light that glowed in the dark room.

 

However, the devil who opened said door didn't deserve that light.

 

The man's spiked, black hair was slicked back, hair oil glistening as his ocean blue eyes stared into Ciara’s similarly-hued ones.

 

She knew he was in the Catacombs—hell, she'd warned Nefra about him—but seeing him made her want to drink acid.

 

“Hello, Father,” Ciara greeted, her tone clipped.

 

The man stepped in and flicked on the torches along the walls of the room with a snap of his fingers as his red lips slowly forming into a smile.

 

“Hello to you as well, Colby.”

 

Ciara glared at him. “I'm not Colby anymore just like you're not Loki. I'm Ciara, nothing else.”

 

“Oh, but you can't just forget your own gender,” Loki jested, “I merely took an alias as the Dark Lord.”

 

“And I don't give a shit about it. Now, why the fuck am I here?” Ciara spat out, growing more annoyed as Loki stalled.

 

“Why? Can I not simply greet my son, or should I say, daughter?” With an incredulous look from Ciara, he continued, "I suppose you want to get straight to business, then."

 

Walking behind her, Loki took one of the weapons along the wall, the clink of metal hitting metal being the only indication that something was unhooked. When Ciara craned her neck only to see a shadow whip in his hands, her stomach dropped.

 

That whip was hers.

 

Surprise flashed across her face before she quickly masked it with fake nonchalance. “Wow, so you're going to whip me like as if I’m a fucking naughty girl? How creative, Father.”

 

“I know you recognize this as yours, which is why it shall hurt even more,” Loki purred as he somehow managed to dissolve her lacy blouse into nothingness, revealing her scarred back.

 

Ciara winced when she heard the smack of flesh, pain flaring up from the gash on her back. Still, she refused to scream, even after the second, third, fourth and fifth lash.

 

Loki huffed when he went back to the front and saw her calm glare. Roughly, he grabbed Ciara's chin with one hand, his other snapping the ichor-coated whip across her face.

 

A tear leaked out of her right eye as the whip scratched her cornea, but the wound was not deep enough to impair her vision.

 

Peering at Loki, Ciara’s glower turned into a smirk. “What Father, can't wound me?”

 

“Just you wait, my dear.” That was her last warning before pain shot up from behind her back in a torrent of fire.

 

Ciara's yelp morphed into a scream as the flames creeping up her back began to lick her wounds, poorly cauterizing them. Loki, guffawing in enjoyment, added in more lashes to her front side.

 

Cuts began littering her front as she squirmed within her restraints to avoid the whip connecting with her flesh. Apparently, Loki figured how to activate the small barbs, so now the little pieces of metal were digging inside her skin.

 

Pausing, the man snapped the whip in front of Ciara’s face, tip barely reaching her nose as the whip splattered golden ichor all over her face.

 

Panting in agony, Ciara looked at her father with clouded eyes. “What the hell is your purpose for doing this, anyway?”

 

“For you to feel the pain I felt from your betrayal,” Loki answered, tilting up her slackened head with two fingers.

 

“What betrayal?” Ciara jested.

 

Loki scowled at her. “After all I've done, you decided to stick with that fiendish boy instead of your own father. What am I to do in a situation such as this except feeling betrayed?!”

 

Ciara went quiet after that, pursing her lips together. Loki, annoyed by the silence, sighed.

 

“I believe you have had enough, and you should return to your cell.”

 

With that, the father unlocked Ciara's bindings with a click.

 

* * *

 

Ciara tapped the wall in boredom as her body ached from the lashes. She occasionally glanced at the sleeping form of Jack, two iron bracelets being the only thing restricting his powers. The dreamsand floating above his head lit the room with a yellow glow, creating a calm atmosphere.

 

Then, there was Nefra.

 

Ciara stared at the girl in concern as she thrashed within her tight constraints, face screwed up in fear. Occasionally, whimpers would leak through her mouth, making Ciara even more anxious.

 

“Well, that appeared to have been quick,” Pitch remarked, breaking the silence between the two.

 

Ciara hummed in agreement. “Yeah, guess so.”

 

The two went back to being quiet, both observing the younger ones in the room.

 

“Why do they have to go through so much, out of all of us?” Ciara whispered, eyes trained on her friends.

 

Pitch sighed, looking at the goddess in sympathy. “I do not know. At least Frost is now having a break from this hellish land.”

 

The comment somehow made Ciara snap. “Do you damn know why Hel gave Jack the dreamsand?!” Ciara shouted, edging closer to Pitch as the man slid back towards the wall. “He was fucking molested by Khione! Jack was a shitty, shivering mess when we all got there! And to make it all the more fucking worse, he was blackmailed into marrying her in the late 1920s too! Who the fuck knows what that slut did to him?!”

 

Ciara stopped yelling once she saw Jack twitch in his sleep, hand rubbing her temples. “I don't even like the fucking, frosty ass.”

 

Pitch, still thinking about what was said earlier, blinked in surprise, face morphed in concern. “How had this marriage occurred?”

 

“I don't have a fucking clue. Nefra just told me about it.” Ciara crossed her arms, pursing her lips. “Just like The War of 1934 and other things.”

 

“Hmm, do you suspect the Guardians know about this?”

 

Ciara barked out a laugh. “Hell no, they don't even know he's the Sovereign of Winter, much less anything about Court politics.”

 

Just then, the room darkened as the sand around Jack's head turned black in the flash of a second.

 

Ciara growled at the sight, glaring at the Bogeyman. “What the fuck?”

 

“I am just as clueless as you are, dear,” Pitch retorted calmly, frown deepening even more, “I cannot harm nor help under these chains.”

 

Ciara had other plans as she moved right next to Jack. Scowling, the goddess tried to brush away the sand in order to wake up Jack, only to be pulled back by Pitch.

 

“What are you doing?” Pitch scolded.

 

Ciara shrugged, going back to Jack's side. “Waking him up?”

 

“Do not touch the sand or else you will be—” Pitch tried to warn her, but Ciara grabbed at the sand and fell asleep, “—sucked into the nightmare.”

 

* * *

 

(Nightmare)

 

Standing in the middle of a hall purely made of twinkling ice, Ciara drunk in the sight of all the glamour the ice palace had to offer.

 

Thick sheets of transparent ice acted as walls, stunning portraits of winter adorning them. The translucent floors, surprisingly not slippery, glistened as daylight shone on them. The towering ice sculptures, ranging from carvings of dancing women in elegant dresses to abstract swirls, were lit up in a multitude of hypnotic colors.

 

Ciara knew this place was the Winter Palace.

 

As the goddess walked along, she soon heard arguing voices from across the hall. Following the sound, she stumbled across a thick door and opened it carelessly.

 

Inside the bedroom was none other than Jack and Khione, Jack pacing in his navy blue robes as Khione sat on the edge of a large mattress, slight weight not even creating a ruffle in the red comforter.

 

“Do you agree or not, Jackie? That is all I ask,” Khione asked, creamy arms crossed together over her strapless, winter blue dress.

 

Jack closed his cerulean eyes, sighing as a tear streaked down his face. “Does it look like I have a choice, Khione? You're literally forcing me into this.”

 

“I am not, my Sovereign. I am just giving you an incentive,” Khione calmly rejected, black eyes studying the boy in front of her.

 

Jack turned towards her in anger, his robes buffeting around him in a swirl of blues. “Excuse me? Since when is blackmailing me with the lives of my last believers an incentive?!”

 

Khione shrugged nonchalantly. “You are able to keep them dead or alive. Whatever it is you wish.”

 

Jack groaned. “There's no point in this stupid argument. Just show me where they are, please.”

 

“Of course.” Khione smiled as she stood up and directed him to her oval vanity mirror, hand gently trailing along his arm.

 

As Khione started chanting in Greek, the image in the mirror began to churn in a multitude of colors before revealing a swinging iron cage suspended inside the dark room by a long chain. Inside were the raggedly outlines of a group of shivering children, each one huddled against each other for fear and warmth. The only thing illuminating the room was the bonfire below the cage that was supposedly keeping the room warm enough for them to barely survive.

 

Each child's scrap-like clothes were covered in grime, along with their bodies. As Jack and Ciara scrutinized the condescending image, they both saw the cuts and bruises on each of their skins, eyes all deep in sorrow.

 

Jack pressed a shaky hand against the mirror, drops of ice falling on the floor as he fell to his knees. “How—how could you do s-something like this?”

 

Khione merely snapped the sight away, mirror only showing their reflections. “Jackie, will it be a yes or no?”

 

Jack just knelt there, hand in a fist as he still thought about them. Khione, sighing, lifted the boy up by his armpits and tossed him onto her bed. Still not responding, Khione went on the bed as well and ran a hand through his silky hair before gently tilting his head up to hers, noses touching.

 

“Jackie?” Khione whispered, her cold breath lightly brushing against his pale lips.

 

Jack slowly blinked. Once his eyes connected with hers, he twisted from her grasp and hurriedly sat up. “I told you my answer is a yes, I'll marry you in two weeks. Now please, just leave me alone.”

 

“Oh but, we were so close,” Khione purred, tugging the reluctant Jack on top of her, grasping his waist so he couldn't flee.

 

Jack futilely wiggled in the embrace before being slammed onto the duvet, back against the soft comforter as Khione stayed above him. His hands were pinned above him, Khione’s knee holding his hips down.

 

Jack gasped when her lips robbed his first kiss, bucking even more in protest.

 

Ciara, frozen from the sight, rushed to the couple. When she made a move to push Khione away, her hands passed through the Snow Goddess’s body.

 

“Right, nightmare,” Ciara whispered as she was forced to watch.

 

Jack wrenched his lips away from hers, panting in fear. “What are you doing?”

 

“Doing what I have waited centuries to do,” Khione responded before she pulled him into another kiss, muffling his sobs.

 

Just then, a random bolt of ice blasted Khione off of him. Ciara turned around, only to meet Yuki’s livid face as she marched up to Khione. However, Jack ran up to her in a tackling hug before she could reach the fallen goddess.

Ciara was awfully shocked at the immortal's appearance. “How'd she get here?”

 

“It is alright, Ou-sama,” Yuki whispered as she soothed the poor teen squeezing her, “I came to track you down once I saw you were not in your room. Fortunately, one of the servants knew of your whereabouts.”

 

Jack simply nodded his head, nuzzling it in her shoulder as he cried.

 

“Now, I shall be leaving with him,” Yuki said to Khione, “and you are not to touch him in that fashion ever again.”

 

With that, Yuki and Jack left, the traumatized teen walking beside her. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this chapter was a PAIN to write back then and is a pain to repost! But yeah, I hope you enjoyed the foreshadowing and stuff! If you didn't see it, well I guess you should look deeper into the nightmares from now on ;D.

**Author's Note:**

> Remember to give kudos, subscribe, and comment! I love gaining feedback on my stories!


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